Effective Intentions

The Power of Conscious Will
Erscheinungsjahr 2009
ISBN: 978-0-19-538426-0
Verlag: Oxford University Press

Buch, Englisch, 192 Seiten, Print PDF, Format (B × H): 145 mm x 222 mm, Gewicht: 382 g

Each of the following claims has been defended in the scientific literature on free will and consciousness: your brain routinely decides what you will do before you become conscious of its decision; there is only a 100 millisecond window of opportunity for free will, and all it can do is veto conscious decisions, intentions, or urges; intentions never play a role in producing corresponding actions; and free will is an illusion.

In Effective Intentions Alfred Mele shows that the evidence offered to support these claims is sorely deficient. He also shows that there is strong empirical support for the thesis that some conscious decisions and intentions have a genuine place in causal explanations of corresponding actions. In short, there is weighty evidence of the existence of effective conscious intentions or the power of conscious will. Mele examines the accuracy of subjects' reports about when they first became aware of decisions or intentions in laboratory settings and develops some implications of warranted skepticism about the accuracy of these reports. In addition, he explores such questions as whether we must be conscious of all of our intentions and why scientists disagree about this. Mele's final chapter closes with a discussion of imaginary scientific findings that would warrant bold claims about free will and consciousness of the sort he examines in this book.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Mele, Alfred R.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Metaphysik, Ontologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Psychologie / Allgemeines & Theorie Psychologische Theorie, Psychoanalyse Philosophische Psychologie, Logotherapie, Existenzanalyse
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Philosophische Psychologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Moderne Philosophische Disziplinen Philosophie des Geistes, Neurophilosophie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

- 1: Introduction

- 2: Conscious Intentions and Decisions

- 3: Neuroscience and Causes of Action

- 4: Neuroscience and Free Will

- 5: Intentional Actions and the Alleged Illusion of Conscious Will

- 6: Proximal Intentions and Awareness Reports

- 7: The Power of Conscious Will

- 8: Conclusion

- Index

Über Autor(innen)

Alfred R. Mele is William H. and Lucyle T. Werkmeister Professor of Philosophy at Florida State University.