Movement is generated subconsciously, and the conscious sense of volition comes later, but the exact time of this event is difficult to assess because of the potentially illusory nature of introspection.Neuroscience can tell us something about the nature of cognition, motor actions and the role of our will. Yes it can.
Given that the term 'free will' tells us absolutely nothing about the nature and means of thought and response. Well it absolutely does, because, Free Will, as I mentioned is associated with choices between good and evil in a religious, moral context. It is not meant to be a challenge to rational brain function, etc, etc, which you are right, has nothing to do with, Free Will. Free Will is what it is in a theist belief system.
''I don't think "free will" is a very sensible concept, and you don't need neuroscience to reject it -- any mechanistic view of the world is good enough, and indeed you could even argue on purely conceptual grounds that the opposite of determinism is randomness, not free will! Martha is a most welcome contributor to the subject, unfortunately she is a bit out of context. One could also argue that the opposite to determinism is, Free Will
Most thoughtful neuroscientists . . . gosh, she let her prejudices slip a bit there, didn't she? Concept of rationality misses the point again. Free Will is operable in a moral, theist, conscience choice between good and evil. It is to choose against ones desires and inclinations. Science is trying so very hard to reduce everything, the universe and humans to data files. They proselytise how important it is to rid the human world of, Cause and independent thought. If everything is so deterministic why do the courts keep jailing people for just acting as they have been programmed?
Movement is generated subconsciously, and the conscious sense of volition comes later, but the exact time of this event is difficult to assess because of the potentially illusory nature of introspection.Okay, but this does not rule out, Free Will. Free Will, once the conscience is trained, the moral imperative begins to govern the life of an individual, will act in accordance to a higher principle than the self once lived by.
In conclusion, Free Will is more than determinism, more than rational thought, though of course it becomes rational to exercise one's Free Will, but it is not a choice in the fundamentalistic, scientific sense. It is the choices an individual makes in a moral context as they work towards a higher idea. A state that transcends who they may have been.
