Neuroscience Challenges Old Ideas about Free Will

Mind Matters | Mind & Brain

Celebrated neuroscientist Michael S. Gazzaniga explains the new science behind an ancient philosophical question.

Michael S. Gazzaniga Image: University of California, Santa Barbara

Do we have free will? It is an age-old question which has attracted the attention of philosophers, theologians, lawyers and political theorists. Now it is attracting the attention of neuroscience, explains Michael S. Gazzaniga, director of the SAGE Center for the Study of the Mind at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and author of the new book, ?Who?s In Charge: Free Will and the Science of the Brain.? He spoke with Mind Matters editor Gareth Cook.

Cook: Why did you decide to tackle the question of free will?

Gazzaniga: I think the issue is on every thinking person?s mind. I can remember wondering about it 50 years ago when I was a student at Dartmouth. At that time, the issue was raw and simply stated. Physics and chemistry were king and while all of us were too young to shave, we saw the implications. For me, those were back in the days when I went to Church every Sunday, and sometimes on Monday if I had an exam coming up!?

Now, after 50 years of studying the brain, listening to philosophers, and most recently being slowly educated about the law, the issue is back on my front burner. The question of whether we are responsible for our actions -- or robots that respond automatically -- has been around a long time but until recently the great scholars who spoke out on the issue didn?t know modern science with its deep knowledge and implications.

Cook: What makes you think that neuroscience can shed any light on what has long been a philosophical question?

Gazzaniga: Philosophers are the best at articulating the nature of a problem before anybody knows anything empirical. The modern philosophers of mind now seize on neuroscience and cognitive science to help illuminate age old questions and to this day are frequently ahead of the pack. Among other skills, they have time to think! The laboratory scientist is consumed with experimental details, analyzing data, and frequently does not have the time to place a scientific finding into a larger landscape. It is a constant tension.

Having said that, philosophers can?t have all the fun. Faced with the nature of biologic mechanisms morning, noon, and night, neuroscientists can?t help but think about such questions as the nature of ?freedom of action in a mechanistic universe? as one great neuroscientist put it years ago. At a minimum, neuroscience directs one?s attention to the question of how does action come about.

Cook: Do you think that neuroscience, as a field, needs to tackle these questions? That is, do you consider free will an important scientific question?

Gazzaniga: We all need to understand more about free will, or more wisely put, the nature of action. Neuroscience is one highly relevant discipline to this issue. Whatever your beliefs about free will, everyone feels like they have it, even those who dispute that it exists. What neuroscience has been showing us, however, is that it all works differently than how we feel it must work. For instance, neuroscientific experiments indicate that human decisions for action are made before the individual is consciously aware of them. Instead of this finding answering the age-old question of whether the brain decides before the mind decides, it makes us wonder if that is even the way to think about how the brain works. Research is focused on many aspects of decision making and actions, such as where in the brain decisions to act are formed and executed, how a bunch of interacting neurons becomes a moral agent, and even how one?s beliefs about whether they have free will affect their actions. The list of issues where neuroscience will weigh in is endless.

Cook: Please explain what you mean by the idea of an "emergent mind," and the distinction you draw between this and the brain?


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Sandusky attorney: 'Showering with kids doesn't make him guilty'

While Jerry Sandusky?s lawyer maintained his client?s innocence on TODAY Tuesday, he conceded that the former Penn State assistant football coach had some lapses in judgment.

    1. Sandusky attorney: 'Showering with kids doesn't make him guilty'

      While Jerry Sandusky?s lawyer maintained his client?s innocence in an interview on TODAY Tuesday, he conceded that the for...

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Video: Sandusky lawyer: Lack of ?common sense? (on this page)

TODAY spoke with attorney Joe Amendola Tuesday after Sandusky, in an exclusive "Rock Center" interview Monday with Bob Costas, admitted to showering with young boys but denied being a pedophile. The former coach insisted he's innocent of charges he sexually abused children.

Story: Jerry Sandusky to Bob Costas: 'I shouldn't have showered with those kids

?The easy answer is he didn?t use a whole lot of common sense because obviously he had the warning in the late ?90s, in the 1998 situation, and certainly should?ve ceased it then,?? Amendola told TODAY about Sandusky's showering with boys. ?I?ve grilled him on that many times, but showering with kids doesn?t make him guilty.??

?In retrospect, you know, I shouldn?t have showered with those kids,?? Sandusky told Costas. ?That?s what hits me the most.??

A grand jury report says Sandusky sexually assaulted eight boys over the course of 15 years. The allegations include reports of Paterno?s former top assistant raping boys on the Penn State campus. Current assistant Mike McQueary said he witnessed Sandusky sexually abusing a young boy in the shower in a campus building in 2002.

"I would say that's false,?? Sandusky told Costas. ?We were showering, and horsing around. And (the boy) actually turned all the showers on and was actually sliding across the floor. And we were, as I recall, possibly like snapping a towel, horseplay."

Story: Military college 'sorry' about sex abuse inaction

In another report, a janitor says he saw Sandusky performing a sex act on a young boy in the Penn State locker room in 2000, which he also denied.

?Because these types of crimes have a common theme and they take a common track, it?s not hard to fabricate allegations,?? Amendola told Curry. ?The point is that he has maintained his innocence, and we live in a system that has presumes innocence and yet the public and the media, not everybody, but for the most part, have tried and convicted him, and he hasn?t had his day in court yet.??

The explosive allegations against Sandusky have rocked the Penn State community, resulting in the firing of legendary head coach Joe Paterno and several other university officials. On Monday, the CEO of Sandusky?s youth charity, Second Mile, resigned.

Amendola intimated the accusers could have financial aims.

Video: Sandusky: I?m not a pedophile (on this page)

?What?s happening now, in my opinion, is that we have a bunch of people who have read the allegations, realize that there is a large university involved and there maybe is a lot of money involved in lawsuits that are going to certainly come,?? Amendola said. ?Until we sort through these allegations, we have absolutely no idea if they?re authentic or not.??

The names of the accusers have not been revealed to Sandusky?s attorneys, although Amendola said they have found a man, now in his 20s, who may be the boy that McQueary claims Sandusky sexually assaulted in the shower in 2002.

?We believe we found him, and if we have found him, he?s telling a very different story than Mike McQueary,?? Amendola said. ?He?s saying it never happened.??

Despite a report by The New York Times that close to 10 more alleged victims have come forward since Sandusky?s arrest, Amendola maintains all of them could be lying.

?Isn?t that a possibility??? Amendola said. ?What we?re saying is we plan to investigate this and find out if that?s a possibility. Is it possible that Jerry did all these things? Of course. And if he did, they?re the most serious types of offenses that anyone could commit upon children and should be punished accordingly. But what if he didn?t? What if he?s innocent? His life will never be the same.??

Asked the question of why so many alleged victims would come forward if nothing inappropriate or illegal had occurred, Sandusky told Costas, ?I would guess that there are many young people who would come forward,?? Sandusky said. ?Many more young people who would come forward and say that my methods and what I had done for them made a very positive impact on their life.

?And I didn't go around seeking out every young person for sexual needs that I've helped. There are many that I didn't have ? I hardly had any contact with who I have helped in many, many ways."

When asked if he was sexually attracted to young boys, Sandusky struggled at first: "Sexually attracted? You know, I enjoy young people. I love to be around them. But no, I'm not sexually attracted to young boys."

Another alleged victim of Sandusky?s was at Sandusky?s home as recently as two years ago, asking Sandusky and his wife to be part of his life, Amendola claims.

?Obviously the other side of that is, that?s what victims do who are abused ? they are confused about how they relate to the people who are the abusers,?? Amendola said. ?That?s all well and good, but it still opens up the possibility that Jerry is innocent.??

With lurid allegations against Sandusky dominating the headlines, why would Amendola let his client reveal, in the interview with Costas, things like, ?I have horsed around with kids. I have showered after workouts. I have hugged them, and I have touched their leg without intent of sexual contact?"

?We had talked about it, and I explained to Jerry that this was an opportunity for him to tell people how he felt and what has happened in his life and the fact that he is not guilty of these offenses,?? Amendola said. ?He took that opportunity. Jerry has wanted to talk about this for a long, long time.??

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45302183/ns/today-today_people/

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Visualized: International Year of Chemistry, in posters

Whatever Simon C Page sees in chemistry, we wish our high school teachers did as well. The aforesaid graphic artist has whipped up a smattering of eye-pleasing, mind-bending posters to commemorate the International Year of Chemistry 2011, and even if you can't tell your Hs from your 2s and Os, you owe it to yourself to give that source link a look. Enjoy.

Visualized: International Year of Chemistry, in posters originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Nov 2011 09:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Delay you say, MotoCast thoughts [From the Forums]

Android Central

And we're back for another fun filled week. Galaxy Nexus news is happening all over, ICS source code info is now flowing -- fun times. Make sure you stick with us for the latest Android news both here and in the Android Central forums. Check out some of the forum threads below:

If you're not already a member of the Android Central forums, you can register your account today.

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New Toy Story Short Shows the Plight of Neglected Happy Meal Toys [Video]

You'll have to go see the new Muppets movie to see it in its entirety (not that you need another reason) but here's a first look at Pixar's new Toy Story short Small Fry which finally gives us a look at what life is like for those crappy, and quickly forgotten, fast food toys. More »


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Kate Middleton: Trying to Get Pregnant?


Is Kate Middleton pregnant? We doubt it, given photo and anecdotal evidence.

Is she trying to get pregnant? That we cannot say with the same certainty!

"There have been reports to the contrary worldwide, but the fact is that the Duchess of Cambridge is not pregnant," insisted a royal aide close to Prince William and Kate Middleton. "Does she hope to be soon? I should say so."

So ... does that mean what we think it means?

Duchess Kate Middleton and Prince William Photo

Possibly not. There's another factor that could delay any royal family expansion.

"Prince William will be on active military duty in the Falkland Islands early next year, and there is no earthly way he would be assigned 8,000 miles from home if the Duchess of Cambridge were expecting," explained a second palace insider.

That does make sense, to wait until the timing is right.

But the first source insists the time is right now:

"Wouldn't it be wonderful, in this era of economic gloom, for an announcement to come shortly? I think it would be a terrific morale booster for the whole country," he teased, half-seriously ... no pressure whatsoever, Kate Middleton.

Amusingly, the source added this, re: the official announcement:

"There are not going to be leaks. There will be an announcement from Kensington Palace. Trust me, this is not going to be the sort of announcement that will be pre-empted by anyone hacking royal mobile phone voice messages."

Well played, Palace insider. Well played.

[Photo: WENN.com]

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/11/kate-middleton-trying-to-get-pregnant/

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"If Something Isn't Happening, You're Not Ready For It" [Quotables]

"If Something Isn't Happening, You're Not Ready For It""If something is not happening for you it doesn't mean it's never going to happen. It means you're not ready for it." ~ Unknown

It's easy to get discouraged when you fail, especially when that failure appears to be monumental. We all want to be ready to be great right now, but things don't always work out that way. It's important to remember that if something isn't working, you shouldn't just give up. Instead, give it time. If you keep trying you'll be ready at some point down the line and you'll eventually achieve your goal.

Patience | Jeffrey on deviantART via Roxor


You can follow Adam Dachis, the author of this post, on Twitter, Google+, and Facebook. ?Twitter's the best way to contact him, too.

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Why The Collaborative Consumption Revolution Might Be As Significant As The Industrial Revolution (TCTV)

lauren-andersonEverything, it seems, is becoming collaborative. From Airbnb to RentCycle to Zipcar, we are swapping our cars, our homes, even our clothes with each other. According to Lauren Anderson from Collaborative Consumption, this change might be as profound as the industrial revolution. It will result, she told me when we met at Fast Company?s Innovative Uncensored event, in a world driven by "reputational capital" in which the "We" of the our collaborative age will replace the "Me" of the industrial age. While Anderson might be right, I?m not sure it?s such a great thing for people like myself who aren?t naturally participatory. Indeed, I find the whole idea of an always-on reputational economy a little creepy ? especially since this may not be a world that is able to either forgot or forgive. But Anderson isn?t bothered by oddities like myself, insisting that "everybody benefits" in this networked, sharing economy. So is Anderson right ? is this shift from the Me to the We as significant as the industrial revolution? And should we welcome this revolution with, so to speak, open arms?

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