PATRICK HAGGARD
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780197264898
- eISBN:
- 9780191754074
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264898.003.0002
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind
This chapter explores the interaction between neuroscience and free will. First, it considers how freely willed actions should be defined. Second, it outlines current understanding of brain ...
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This chapter explores the interaction between neuroscience and free will. First, it considers how freely willed actions should be defined. Second, it outlines current understanding of brain mechanisms preceding action, showing in what respects these mechanisms meet the philosophical criteria for freely willed action, and in what respects they do not. Finally, it concludes that the philosophical criteria themselves are based on two underlying psychological facts: human action involves complex mappings between environmental stimuli and goal-directed responses, and human action is associated with a range of quasi-perceptual experiences, classically called ‘motor attention’. These facts lie at the heart of our concept of conscious free will, and are directly related to the recent evolutionary development of the brain's frontal lobes.Less
This chapter explores the interaction between neuroscience and free will. First, it considers how freely willed actions should be defined. Second, it outlines current understanding of brain mechanisms preceding action, showing in what respects these mechanisms meet the philosophical criteria for freely willed action, and in what respects they do not. Finally, it concludes that the philosophical criteria themselves are based on two underlying psychological facts: human action involves complex mappings between environmental stimuli and goal-directed responses, and human action is associated with a range of quasi-perceptual experiences, classically called ‘motor attention’. These facts lie at the heart of our concept of conscious free will, and are directly related to the recent evolutionary development of the brain's frontal lobes.
Randolph Blake and Sheng He
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198529699
- eISBN:
- 9780191689697
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198529699.003.0011
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology
Adaptation within sensory systems broadens the dynamic range of those systems, making it possible for organisms to function efficiently over a wide variety of environmental conditions. To maximize ...
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Adaptation within sensory systems broadens the dynamic range of those systems, making it possible for organisms to function efficiently over a wide variety of environmental conditions. To maximize efficiency sensory adaptation is characteristically ‘selective’ for different stimulus attributes, as it should be in order to promote adaptive changes in neural representations of environmental stimuli. This chapter considers several simple but potentially revealing questions about adaptation aftereffects, and interrelated questions that attempt to get at the neural bases of perceptual awareness: What happens when a visual adapting stimulus falls outside of conscious awareness for a substantial portion of the adaptation period, thereby dissociating phenomenal perception from physical stimulation? What transpires within the visual nervous system when a given stimulus takes on different appearances owing to visual adaptation?Less
Adaptation within sensory systems broadens the dynamic range of those systems, making it possible for organisms to function efficiently over a wide variety of environmental conditions. To maximize efficiency sensory adaptation is characteristically ‘selective’ for different stimulus attributes, as it should be in order to promote adaptive changes in neural representations of environmental stimuli. This chapter considers several simple but potentially revealing questions about adaptation aftereffects, and interrelated questions that attempt to get at the neural bases of perceptual awareness: What happens when a visual adapting stimulus falls outside of conscious awareness for a substantial portion of the adaptation period, thereby dissociating phenomenal perception from physical stimulation? What transpires within the visual nervous system when a given stimulus takes on different appearances owing to visual adaptation?
Ruth A. Baer and Emily L. B. Lykins
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195373585
- eISBN:
- 9780199893263
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195373585.003.0022
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology, Health Psychology
Mindfulness is typically described as a form of nonjudgmental, nonreactive attention to experiences occurring in the present moment, including cognitions, emotions, and bodily sensations, as well as ...
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Mindfulness is typically described as a form of nonjudgmental, nonreactive attention to experiences occurring in the present moment, including cognitions, emotions, and bodily sensations, as well as sights, sounds, smells, and other environmental stimuli. The cultivation of mindfulness is a central component of Eastern meditation traditions and lies at the heart of Buddhist teachings about the nature of reality and human experience. This chapter argues that mindfulness cultivates human characteristics that are central to positive psychology, including character strengths and virtues and psychological well-being, but it does so through acceptance-based rather than change-based methods. Because mindfulness training appears to have a broad range of outcomes, including enhancement of positive characteristics, its potential contribution to optimal human functioning warrants substantially increased attention. The chapter examines the literature supporting this view, discusses the processes or mechanisms through which this may occur, and suggests directions for future research.Less
Mindfulness is typically described as a form of nonjudgmental, nonreactive attention to experiences occurring in the present moment, including cognitions, emotions, and bodily sensations, as well as sights, sounds, smells, and other environmental stimuli. The cultivation of mindfulness is a central component of Eastern meditation traditions and lies at the heart of Buddhist teachings about the nature of reality and human experience. This chapter argues that mindfulness cultivates human characteristics that are central to positive psychology, including character strengths and virtues and psychological well-being, but it does so through acceptance-based rather than change-based methods. Because mindfulness training appears to have a broad range of outcomes, including enhancement of positive characteristics, its potential contribution to optimal human functioning warrants substantially increased attention. The chapter examines the literature supporting this view, discusses the processes or mechanisms through which this may occur, and suggests directions for future research.