Voluntary Action: Brains, Minds, and Sociality

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Sabine Maasen (, Professor of Science Studies, University of Basel, Switzerland) Wolfgang Prinz (, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Psychological Research, Munich, Germany)

Voluntary Action

Brains, Minds, and Sociality

Sabine Maasen (, Professor of Science Studies, University of Basel, Switzerland), Wolfgang Prinz (, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Psychological Research, Munich, Germany), Gerhard Roth (, Hanse Institute for Advanced Study, Delmenhorst, Germany)

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English

Oxford University Press
01 June 2003

Philosophy of mind; Psychological theory & schools of thought; Cognitivism, cognitive theory; Physiological & neuro-psychology, biopsychology; Cognition & cognitive psychology; Conscious & unconscious; Neurosciences

We all know what a voluntary action is - we all think we know when an action is voluntary, and when it is not. First, there has to be some wish or goal, then an action designed to fulfil that wish or attain that goal.

This standard view of voluntary action is prominent in both folk psychology and the professional sphere (e.g. the juridical) and guides a great deal of psychological and philosophical reasoning. But is it that simple though?

For example, research from the neurosciences has shown us that the brain activation required to perform the action can actually precede the brain activation representing our conscious desire to perform that action.

Only in retrospect do we come to attribute the action we performed to some desire or wish to perform the action.

This presents us with a problem - if our conscious awareness of an action follows its execution, then is it really a voluntary action?

The question guiding this book: What is the explanatory role of voluntary action, and are there ways that we can reconcile our common-sense intuitions about voluntary actions with the findings from the sciences?

This is a debate that crosses the boundaries of philosophy, neuroscience, psychology and social science.

This book brings together some of the leading thinkers from these disciplines to consider this deep and often puzzling topic.

The result is a fascinating and stimulating debate that will challenge our fundamental assumptions about our sense of free-will.

Edited by: Sabine Maasen ( Professor of Science Studies University of Basel Switzerland), Wolfgang Prinz (, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Psychological Research, Munich, Germany), Gerhard Roth (, Hanse Institute for Advanced Study, Delmenhorst, Germany)
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 269mm, Width: 193mm, Spine: 17mm
Weight: 1g
ISBN: 9780198527541
ISBN 10: 0198527543
Pages: 392
Publication Date: 01 June 2003
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Reviews for Voluntary Action: Brains, Minds, and Sociality

the book represents a very good overview of existing arguments and research relating to the topic of free will. Every chapter is unique and very much up to date ... the book is a very good investment. Science and Consciousness Review