tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3427479692989285926.post2683816291496765170..comments2024-03-17T11:54:10.124+11:00Comments on Journeyman Philosopher: To have or not to have free willPaul P. Mealinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14573615711151742992noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3427479692989285926.post-34993715073782972462010-07-24T17:42:48.276+10:002010-07-24T17:42:48.276+10:00Hi Outerhoard,
Thanks for taking an interest. Wha...Hi Outerhoard,<br /><br />Thanks for taking an interest. What you are suggesting is to provide a feedback mechanism that would interfere with the subconscious activity in the brain. Yes, that would be interesting. Of course, there's a lot of activity that does occur unconsciously, that may or may not affect decision-making.<br /><br />I don't know if you read the post before this one, but it discusses <a href="http://journeymanphilosopher.blogspot.com/2010/04/consciousness-explained-well-almost.html" rel="nofollow">this</a>. Don't be put off by the title - it's meant to be tongue-in-cheek.<br /><br />Regards, Paul.Paul P. Mealinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14573615711151742992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3427479692989285926.post-5285132418413605842010-07-24T17:30:27.155+10:002010-07-24T17:30:27.155+10:00I've always found the "brain activity n s...I've always found the "brain activity <i>n</i> seconds before conscious decision" thing to be very unconvincing. It concerns a very specific type of decision: a completely arbitrary and trivial one, since nobody is going to wake up the next morning and think, "I wish I'd pressed the green button instead". Generalising the results of such experiments to decisions in general involves a number of assumptions.<br /><br />The hypothetical follow-up experiment I've always wanted to see is as follows. Instruct the volunteer to press the button any time while the light is green, but not while it is red (or they lose points). Let the light be connected to the brain monitoring equipment so that it automatically turns red for, say, fifteen seconds every time it detects a decision to press the button. Observe.<br /><br />Has this been done? What happened?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3427479692989285926.post-9448076682371244782010-04-14T08:29:57.365+10:002010-04-14T08:29:57.365+10:00That's very exciting stuff, all of this resear...<i>That's very exciting stuff, all of this research. I would argue, though, that the conscious rewiring of brains is something that happens pretty frequently and needn't rely on a traumatic event like a stroke - I suspect that some psychotherapeutic techniques are effective because they rely on precisely this ability.</i><br /><br />Yes, you're right. If you listen to the interview (if you get a chance) that's exactly what he talks about, including psychotherapies.<br /><br />Interesting point you raise about cognition. I think scientists and philosophers have tended to sweep free will under the carpet, but I don't believe it's going to go away.<br /><br />Regards, Paul.Paul P. Mealinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14573615711151742992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3427479692989285926.post-43008261088545431892010-04-14T07:10:06.347+10:002010-04-14T07:10:06.347+10:00That's very exciting stuff, all of this resear...That's very exciting stuff, all of this research. I would argue, though, that the conscious rewiring of brains is something that happens pretty frequently and needn't rely on a traumatic event like a stroke - I suspect that some psychotherapeutic techniques are effective because they rely on precisely this ability.<br /><br />As for free will, well...who knows. It's a mess, that question, and it probably always will be. The only thing I can say about those two contrasting studies is that they're apples and oranges: the one deals with physical action and the other with, for lack of a better word, cognition. Even if we prove conclusively (somehow) that our bodily actions are predicted by subconscious brain events, perhaps that could still leave open something having to do with non-physical behaviors.Elihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03543293341085230171noreply@blogger.com