Volition and the Brain - Revisiting a Classic Experimental Study

doi:10.1016/j.tins.2018.04.009

Comment

. 2018 Jul;41(7):405-407.

doi: 10.1016/j.tins.2018.04.009.

Volition and the Brain - Revisiting a Classic Experimental Study

Chris D Frith¹, Patrick Haggard²

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Philosophy, University of London, Senate House, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU, UK; Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging at University College London, 12 Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK. Electronic address: c.frith@ucl.ac.uk.
² Institute of Philosophy, University of London, Senate House, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU, UK; Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London, 17 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AR, UK; Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives, Département d'Études Cognitives, École Normale Supérieure, 29 Rue d'Ulm, Paris 75005, France. Electronic address: p.haggard@ucl.ac.uk.

PMID: 29933770
PMCID: PMC6024487
DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2018.04.009

Comment

Volition and the Brain - Revisiting a Classic Experimental Study

Chris D Frith et al. Trends Neurosci. 2018 Jul.

. 2018 Jul;41(7):405-407.

doi: 10.1016/j.tins.2018.04.009.

Authors

Chris D Frith¹, Patrick Haggard²

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Philosophy, University of London, Senate House, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU, UK; Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging at University College London, 12 Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK. Electronic address: c.frith@ucl.ac.uk.
² Institute of Philosophy, University of London, Senate House, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU, UK; Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London, 17 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AR, UK; Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives, Département d'Études Cognitives, École Normale Supérieure, 29 Rue d'Ulm, Paris 75005, France. Electronic address: p.haggard@ucl.ac.uk.

PMID: 29933770
PMCID: PMC6024487
DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2018.04.009

Abstract

In 1983 Libet et al. demonstrated that brain activity associated with a voluntary act precedes conscious experience of the intention to act by several hundred milliseconds. The implication that it is the brain, rather than 'free will', that initiates voluntary acts has been discussed ever since by philosophers and lawyers, as well as by scientists. We show here how Libet's original study gave rise to an entire research field of experimental investigations of volition.

Keywords: Libet; agency; free will; regret; responsibility; volition.

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References

1. Libet B. Time of conscious intention to act in relation to onset of cerebral activity (readiness-potential). The unconscious initiation of a freely voluntary act. Brain. 1983;106:623–642. - PubMed
1. Dennett D.C., Kinsbourne M. Time and the observer: the where and when of consciousness in the brain. Behav. Brain Sci. 1992;15:183–201.
1. Haggard P., Eimer M. On the relation between brain potentials and the awareness of voluntary movements. Exp. Brain Res. 1999;126:128–133. - PubMed
1. Shepherd J. Free will and consciousness: experimental studies. Conscious. Cogn. 2012;21:915–927. - PubMed
1. Hart H.L.A. Oxford University Press; 2008. Punishment and Responsibility: Essays in the Philosophy of Law.

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[1] Libet B. Time of conscious intention to act in relation to onset of cerebral activity (readiness-potential). The unconscious initiation of a freely voluntary act. Brain. 1983;106:623–642. - PubMed

[2] Libet B. Time of conscious intention to act in relation to onset of cerebral activity (readiness-potential). The unconscious initiation of a freely voluntary act. Brain. 1983;106:623–642. - PubMed

[3] Dennett D.C., Kinsbourne M. Time and the observer: the where and when of consciousness in the brain. Behav. Brain Sci. 1992;15:183–201.

[4] Dennett D.C., Kinsbourne M. Time and the observer: the where and when of consciousness in the brain. Behav. Brain Sci. 1992;15:183–201.

[5] Haggard P., Eimer M. On the relation between brain potentials and the awareness of voluntary movements. Exp. Brain Res. 1999;126:128–133. - PubMed

[6] Haggard P., Eimer M. On the relation between brain potentials and the awareness of voluntary movements. Exp. Brain Res. 1999;126:128–133. - PubMed

[7] Shepherd J. Free will and consciousness: experimental studies. Conscious. Cogn. 2012;21:915–927. - PubMed

[8] Shepherd J. Free will and consciousness: experimental studies. Conscious. Cogn. 2012;21:915–927. - PubMed

[9] Hart H.L.A. Oxford University Press; 2008. Punishment and Responsibility: Essays in the Philosophy of Law.

[10] Hart H.L.A. Oxford University Press; 2008. Punishment and Responsibility: Essays in the Philosophy of Law.

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Volition and the Brain - Revisiting a Classic Experimental Study

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Volition and the Brain - Revisiting a Classic Experimental Study

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