Title: Free will, causality, and neuroscience
Authors: Feltz, Bernard; Missal, Marcus; Sims, Andrew
Year: 2020
Subjects: Free will and determinism; Causation; Neurosciences; Causation; Free will and determinism; Neurosciences
Abstract: Neuroscientists often consider free will to be an illusion. Contrary to this hypothesis, the contributions to this volume show that recent developments in neuroscience can also support the existence of free will. Firstly, the possibility of intentional consciousness is studied. Secondly, Libet's experiments are discussed from this new perspective. Thirdly, the relationship between free will, causality and language is analyzed. This approach suggests that language grants the human brain a possibility to articulate a meaningful personal life. Therefore, human beings can escape strict biological determinism.
Contents: Perceptual decision-making and beyond : intention as mental imagery / Andrew Sims and Marcus Missal -- Dual-system theory and the role of consciousness in intentional action / Markus Schlosser -- When do robots have free will? Exploring the relationships between (attributions of) consciousness and free will / Eddy Nahmias, Corey Hill Allen and Bradley Loveall -- Free will and neuroscience : decision times and the point of no return / Alfred Mele -- Why Libet-Style experiments cannot refute all forms of libertarianism / László Bernáth -- Actions and intentions / Sofia Bonicalzi -- The mental, the physical and the informational / Anna Drozdzewska -- Free will, language, and the causal exclusion problem / Bernard Feltz and Olivier Sartenaer