What Does Neuroscience Say About Free WIll?

i find the notions of determinism/free will fascinating and this new video seems to indicate, at least, a deterministic process in our decision making. but i still wonder if these two concepts are mutually exclusive, or if aspects of our decision making include both inevitable process and inspiration.

the video is fascinating, i think, and shows how we are ever approaching the ultimate quantification of every human action.

In this clip, Marcus Du Sautoy (Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford and current Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science) participates in an experiment conducted by John-Dylan Haynes (Professor at the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin) that attempts to find the neurological basis for decision making.

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6 seconds is a really long time

Someone can see what you're going to do before you do it, interesting

So...Is there a higher force of some kind dictating my thoughts? Do we only have the illusion of free will?
One would have to see everybody in a different light...so to speak..if we are making decisions based not entirelly what we think of as our own...we cannot judge another...which I try not to do personally anyways...we are all equal in my eyes anyway...hmmm makes the concept of good and evil to be seen in a diferent way...everything is meant to be???????

Originally posted by Kerrylee
So...Is there a higher force of some kind dictating my thoughts? Do we only have the illusion of free will?
One would have to see everybody in a different light...so to speak..if we are making decisions based not entirelly what we think of as our own...we cannot judge another...which I try not to do personally anyways...we are all equal in my eyes anyway...hmmm makes the concept of good and evil to be seen in a diferent way...everything is meant to be???????

The Law of Predestined dictates:

"If everything is as it always has been, then everything will be as it always has."

Then the Law of Free Will dictates:

"The Law of Predestined applies with Free Will, when everything is as it always has been."

Ribbit

Ps: What dew you think the vase scene was all about, in the Matrix?

Decision making is based on choices...no choice, no decision - predestination, clockwork universe, automation, no FREE WILL...

...biological imperatives aside (cos it's a whole other discussion), the belief of non-FREE WILL is a decision and therefore based on FREE WILL, as there is a choice...

FREE WILL, either way, defines the parameters you set for yourself...the parameters establish a framework on which your reality (for want of a better word) hangs itself on...

This can be argued both ways and is still relevant and undeniable...FREE WILL camp, or non-FREE WILL camp.

Neuroscience, like all sciences has a lot to say on many things, and then alters them to reflect current findings...and you don't need to be a scientist to just observe what actually happens (on the outside).

The concept of a lack of choice (referred to above) reflects the limiting of parameters consistent with the above mentioned mechanics of FREE WILL...hence the FREE WILL to limit parameters and render the concept of non-FREE WILL true...(for those who would limit thier FREE WILL!).

Akushla

This is not surprising really. Our brain is very complex and helps us make decisions. It uses our past experiences, positive and negative reinforcements learned from our environment and takes the "raw data" and passes information to our conscious mind. We would probably go mad if we consciously had to "think" about how all the neurons and groups of neurons were interacting.

One analogy I can think of is a home computer. When I click on the web link to go to the ATS site, under the covers the CPU is detecting my mouse click, moving data into and out of RAM (memory), the network is communicating with ISP servers, proper graphics are generated etc. It was still my choice to go to the ATS site, but I did not have to think about all the low level nuts and bolts.

Does this mean we have no free will since the underlying "brain" has already done it's work? I don't think so because I don't act on every silly thought that comes into my mind. I also have the perspective of knowledge of the world, morality, religion, cultural norms and past experiences which would filter the brain's suggestions. So I still have a choice on what I can do, even if my brain tells me it wants this or that.

The only reason this experiment worked is that only a very simple choice had to be made, i.e. click the left or right button. If the question was more complex like "Which car should I buy?", I doubt they could predict it.

Originally posted by Nicolas Flamel
This is not surprising really. Our brain is very complex and helps us make decisions. It uses our past experiences, positive and negative reinforcements learned from our environment and takes the "raw data" and passes information to our conscious mind. We would probably go mad if we consciously had to "think" about how all the neurons and groups of neurons were interacting.

One analogy I can think of is a home computer. When I click on the web link to go to the ATS site, under the covers the CPU is detecting my mouse click, moving data into and out of RAM (memory), the network is communicating with ISP servers, proper graphics are generated etc. It was still my choice to go to the ATS site, but I did not have to think about all the low level nuts and bolts.

Does this mean we have no free will since the underlying "brain" has already done it's work? I don't think so because I don't act on every silly thought that comes into my mind. I also have the perspective of knowledge of the world, morality, religion, cultural norms and past experiences which would filter the brain's suggestions. So I still have a choice on what I can do, even if my brain tells me it wants this or that.

The only reason this experiment worked is that only a very simple choice had to be made, i.e. click the left or right button. If the question was more complex like "Which car should I buy?", I doubt they could predict it.

What if this "experiment" is repeated over and over and over, with the same players, but different souls playing the part, with everything "programmed" as before?

Dew you think you'd always dew the same thing and if you always dew the same thing, how can that constitute Free Will?

Ribbit