How Could Conscious Experiences Affect Brains?In daily life we take it for granted that our minds have conscious control of our actions, at least for most of the time. But many scientists and philosophers deny that this is really the case, because there is no generally accepted theory of how the mind interacts with the body. Max Velmans presents a non-reductive solution to the problem, in which 'conscious mental control' includes 'voluntary' operations of the preconscious mind. On this account, biological determinism is compatible with experienced free will. Velmans' theory is put to the test by nine critics: Ron Chrisley, Todd Feinberg, Jeffrey Gray, John Kihlstrom, Sam Rakover, Ramakrishna Rao, Aaron Sloman, Steve Torrance and Robert Van Gulick. |
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accepted analogy analysis appear argue Behavioral and Brain Brain Sciences causal accounts causal closure causal effects causal interactions causes Chrisley & Sloman claim cognitive complementarity conscious experiences consciousness and brain correlational law described distinct dual-aspect theory electrical emergent ences encoded epistemological dualism evidence example first-person experience first-person perspective functions fundamental Gulick imagery information structure Leibniz's law Libet magnetic Max Velmans measurement mental causation mental processes mind-itself mind/body problems mind/brain mutually irreducible nature of mind neural correlates neurophenomenological laws nonconscious nonreductive physicalism observed ontological ontological identity ontological monism pain phenomenal and physical phenomenal consciousness phenomenology philosophy physical correlates physical world physicalist placebo preconscious properties psychology psychophysical Psychosomatic qualia Rakover reducible reductionism reductionist Reflexive Monism relation represent representations role scientific scious experiences sciousness Searle sense subjective suggest target article third-person accounts third-person perspective thought tion Understanding Consciousness Velmans visual voluntary