The Electromagnetic Will
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Time to Lay the Libet Experiment to Rest: Commentary on Papanicolaou (2017)
Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice © 2017 American Psychological Association 2017, Vol. 4, No. 3, 324–329 2326-5523/17/$12.00 http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/cns0000124 COMMENTARY Time to Lay the Libet Experiment to Rest: Commentary on Papanicolaou (2017) John F. Kihlstrom University of California, Berkeley For more than 30 years, “the Libet experiment” has inspired and dominated philosoph- ical and scientific discussions of free will and determinism. Unfortunately, this famous experiment has been compromised by a serious confounding variable (i.e., there has been no control for watching the clock), and the method of data collection ignored conscious mental activity that occurred prior to the decision to act. Because Libet’s results appear to be wholly an artifact of his method, his experiment should be discounted in future discussions of the problem of free will. Keywords: agency, consciousness, free will, Libet experiment, readiness potential For more than 30 years, an experiment by In his experiment, Libet and his colleagues Benjamin Libet, a psychophysiologist interested asked subjects to perform a simple spontaneous in psychoanalytic theory, has inspired and dom- motor activity, flicking a finger or flexing a inated discussions of free will and conscious wrist, while watching a fast-moving clock, and agency. Starting with Libet, Wright, and Glea- to note the time at which they decided to make son (1982), Libet capitalized on an electroen- the movement (Libet, 1985; Libet, Gleason, cephalographic (EEG) signature known as the Wright, & Pearl, 1983; Libet et al., 1982). Ex- readiness potential (RP, or Bereitschaftspoten- amining the EEG data, they observed that the tial in the original German; Kornhuber & RP began approximately 350 ms before subjects Deecke, 1965, 1990), a negative shift in voltage decided to make the movement—which, in turn, which occurs prior to voluntary muscle move- occurred about 200 ms before the movement ments—somewhat in the manner of an event- began. -
Theoretical Models of Consciousness: a Scoping Review
brain sciences Review Theoretical Models of Consciousness: A Scoping Review Davide Sattin 1,2,*, Francesca Giulia Magnani 1, Laura Bartesaghi 1, Milena Caputo 1, Andrea Veronica Fittipaldo 3, Martina Cacciatore 1, Mario Picozzi 4 and Matilde Leonardi 1 1 Neurology, Public Health, Disability Unit—Scientific Department, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, 20133 Milan, Italy; [email protected] (F.G.M.); [email protected] (L.B.); [email protected] (M.C.); [email protected] (M.C.); [email protected] (M.L.) 2 Experimental Medicine and Medical Humanities-PhD Program, Biotechnology and Life Sciences Department and Center for Clinical Ethics, Insubria University, 21100 Varese, Italy 3 Oncology Department, Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research IRCCS, 20156 Milan, Italy; veronicaandrea.fi[email protected] 4 Center for Clinical Ethics, Biotechnology and Life Sciences Department, Insubria University, 21100 Varese, Italy; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +39-02-2394-2709 Abstract: The amount of knowledge on human consciousness has created a multitude of viewpoints and it is difficult to compare and synthesize all the recent scientific perspectives. Indeed, there are many definitions of consciousness and multiple approaches to study the neural correlates of consciousness (NCC). Therefore, the main aim of this article is to collect data on the various theories of consciousness published between 2007–2017 and to synthesize them to provide a general overview of this topic. To describe each theory, we developed a thematic grid called the dimensional model, which qualitatively and quantitatively analyzes how each article, related to one specific theory, debates/analyzes a specific issue. -
Mind Byte” Series Disperses Particles from the Consciousness Documentary “The Deeper You Go”
STORY LLC CONTACT 11TH STORY LLC FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tel: 414.301.1102 or 2 [email protected] November 4, 2014 “MIND BYTE” SERIES DISPERSES PARTICLES FROM THE CONSCIOUSNESS DOCUMENTARY “THE DEEPER YOU GO” “Mind Byte” an ongoing series of one minute interview clips to promote the 2015 release of “The Deeper You Go” launched with controversial biologist Rupert Sheldrake. In “The Deeper You Go” Milwaukee filmmakers Lora Nigro and Kevin Rutkowski, reunited with Los Angeles cinematographer Vincent Gaudes, interviewed keynote speakers on the fly at The Toward a Science of Consciousness Conference organized and sponsored by The Center for Consciousness Studies; University of Arizona this April. Setting up camp in the hotel courtyard where the conference was held, they shot guerilla style with one HD camcorder and boom microphone but seized a hotel storage closet for the makeshift indoor shots. Known luminaries and TED talkers Deepak Chopra, Susan Blackmore, David Chalmers, Dan Dennett, Stuart Hameroff, John Searle, Stanislas Dehaene and NY Times best selling author Eben Alexander, Proof of Heaven are among the rock star line up. The Sneak Preview demo introduced this September captured the ensuing debate in quick point-counter point edits, suggesting that the sharpest minds in the field don’t agree much on the nature of mind. “Consciousness” the film’s featured soundtrack single also became available web-wide. Nigro and Rutkowski’s background as recording artists, whose lyrical explorations of the meaning of existence, provides a context for their interest in the subject. Consciousness is fundamental to our reality. Once the domain of religion, the study of human consciousness has exploded in the last decades, making headway in the fields of neuroscience, psychology, philosophy and other disciplines. -
14 Consciousness in the Universe an Updated Review of the “Orch
“9x6” b2237 Biophysics of Consciousness: A Foundational Approach FA Biophysics of Consciousness: A Foundational Approach R. R. Poznanski, J. A. Tuszynski and T. E. Feinberg Copyright © 2016 World Scientific, Singapore. 14 CONSCIOUSNESS IN THE UNIVERSE AN UPDATED REVIEW OF THE “ORCH OR” THEORY Stuart R. Hameroff,* and Roger Penrose† * Anesthesiology and Psychology, Center for Consciousness Studies, Banner-University Medical Center The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA † Mathematical Institute and Wadham College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK Abstract The nature of consciousness, the mechanism by which it occurs in the brain, and its ultimate place in the universe are unknown. We proposed in the mid 1990’s that consciousness depends on biologically “orchestrated” coherent quantum processes in collections of microtubules within brain neurons, that these quantum processes correlate with, and regulate, neuronal synaptic and membrane activity, and that the continuous Schrödinger evolution of each such process terminates in accordance with the specific Diósi–Penrose (DP) scheme of “ objective reduction” (“OR”) of the quantum state. This orchestrated OR activity (“Orch OR”) is taken to result in moments of conscious awareness and/or choice. The DP form of OR is related to the fundamentals of quantum mechanics and space–time geometry, so Orch OR suggests that there is a connection between the brain’s biomolecular processes and the basic structure of the universe. Here we review Orch OR in light of criticisms and developments in quantum biology, neuroscience, physics and cosmology. We also introduce novel suggestions of (1) beat frequencies of faster Orch OR microtubule dynamics (e.g. megahertz) as a possible source 517 bb2237_Ch-14.indd2237_Ch-14.indd 551717 44/15/2016/15/2016 112:31:372:31:37 PPMM FA b2237 Biophysics of Consciousness: A Foundational Approach “9x6” 518 S. -
"Orchestrated Objective Reduction"(Orch OR)
Orchestrated Objective Reduction of Quantum Coherence in Brain Microtubules: The "Orch OR" Model for Consciousness Stuart Hameroff & Roger Penrose, In: Toward a Science of Consciousness - The First Tucson Discussions and Debates, eds. Hameroff, S.R., Kaszniak, A.W. and Scott, A.C., Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, pp. 507-540 (1996) Stuart Hameroff and Roger Penrose ABSTRACT Features of consciousness difficult to understand in terms of conventional neuroscience have evoked application of quantum theory, which describes the fundamental behavior of matter and energy. In this paper we propose that aspects of quantum theory (e.g. quantum coherence) and of a newly proposed physical phenomenon of quantum wave function "self-collapse"(objective reduction: OR -Penrose, 1994) are essential for consciousness, and occur in cytoskeletal microtubules and other structures within each of the brain's neurons. The particular characteristics of microtubules suitable for quantum effects include their crystal-like lattice structure, hollow inner core, organization of cell function and capacity for information processing. We envisage that conformational states of microtubule subunits (tubulins) are coupled to internal quantum events, and cooperatively interact (compute) with other tubulins. We further assume that macroscopic coherent superposition of quantum-coupled tubulin conformational states occurs throughout significant brain volumes and provides the global binding essential to consciousness. We equate the emergence of the microtubule quantum coherence with pre-conscious processing which grows (for up to 500 milliseconds) until the mass-energy difference among the separated states of tubulins reaches a threshold related to quantum gravity. According to the arguments for OR put forth in Penrose (1994), superpositioned states each have their own space-time geometries. -
Tilburg University Christian Faith, Free Will and Neuroscience Sarot, M
Tilburg University Christian Faith, Free Will and Neuroscience Sarot, M. Published in: Embodied Religion Publication date: 2013 Document Version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Link to publication in Tilburg University Research Portal Citation for published version (APA): Sarot, M. (2013). Christian Faith, Free Will and Neuroscience. In P. H. A. I. Jonkers, & M. Sarot (Eds.), Embodied Religion (pp. 105-120). (Ars Disputandi Supplement Series; No. 6). Igitur. General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 25. sep. 2021 6 Christian Faith, Free Will and Neuroscience MARCEL SAROT Tilburg University ABSTRACT In this contribution I explain what the libertarian conception of free will is, and why it is of moral and religious importance. Consequently, I defend this conception of free will against secular and religious charges. After that, I present and evaluate neuroscientific experi- ments on free will, especially Benjamin Libet’s experiments. -
Will There Be a Neurolaw Revolution?
Will There Be a Neurolaw Revolution? ∗ ADAM J. KOLBER The central debate in the field of neurolaw has focused on two claims. Joshua Greene and Jonathan Cohen argue that we do not have free will and that advances in neuroscience will eventually lead us to stop blaming people for their actions. Stephen Morse, by contrast, argues that we have free will and that the kind of advances Greene and Cohen envision will not and should not affect the law. I argue that neither side has persuasively made the case for or against a revolution in the way the law treats responsibility. There will, however, be a neurolaw revolution of a different sort. It will not necessarily arise from radical changes in our beliefs about criminal responsibility but from a wave of new brain technologies that will change society and the law in many ways, three of which I describe here: First, as new methods of brain imaging improve our ability to measure distress, the law will ease limitations on recoveries for emotional injuries. Second, as neuroimaging gives us better methods of inferring people’s thoughts, we will have more laws to protect thought privacy but less actual thought privacy. Finally, improvements in artificial intelligence will systematically change how law is written and interpreted. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 808 I. A WEAK CASE FOR A RESPONSIBILITY REVOLUTION.......................................... 809 A. THE FREE WILL IMPASSE ......................................................................... 809 B. GREENE AND COHEN’S NORMATIVE CLAIM ............................................. 810 C. GREENE AND COHEN’S PREDICTION ........................................................ 811 D. WHERE THEIR PREDICTION NEEDS STRENGTHENING .............................. 813 II. A WEAK CASE THAT LAW IS INSULATED FROM REVOLUTION .......................... -
Biologicau Co~Ntrir~Utio~Rne to the Development Of
,- B BiologicaU Co~ntriR~utio~rneto the Development of Psychology KARL H. PRIBRAM AND DANIEL N. ROBINSON INTRODUCTION This chapter concerns several important influences that biology has had on the development of psychology as a science. Specifically, we attempt to account for an apparent paradox: In the nineteenth century, rapid advances were made in relating biology in general and brain func- tion in particular to the phenomena of mind. Throughout much of the first half of the twentieth century, however, these same relationships were all but ignored and the foundations for a scientific psychology were sought in the environment. The biological aspects of psychology, perhaps more than other special branches of the discipline, resist historical compression. Psychobiology, as we shall call the subject,' is deeply rooted in both philosophy and 4 ' There is still no universally accepted criterion for distinguishing among the terms physiological psychology, psychobiology, neuropsychology, and biopsychology. A grow- ' ing convention would reserve the term neuropsychology to theory about the human ; nervous system based on research involving complex cognitive processes, often in settings in which clinical findings are directly relevant. Physiological psychology strikes many as too restricted, for much current work falls under headings such as biophysics, computer science, or microanatomy that are synonymous with physiology. Thus, psychobiology is used here to refer to the broadest range of correlative studies in which biobehavioral investigations are undertaken and referenced to phenomenal experience. 345 POINTS OF VIEW IN THE Copyright 0 1985 by Academic Press, Inc. MODERN HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY All rights of reprod~lctionin any form resewed. ISBN 0-12-148510-2 346 Karl H. -
An Emergentist Interpretation of Benjamin Libet
6 MY BRAIN MADE ME NOT DO IT: AN EMERGENTIST INTERPRETATION OF BENJAMIN LIBET Daniel Pallarés-Domínguez 1. INTRODUCTION Since it became a discipline in 2002 (Safire, 2002), neuroethics has been characterised in two ways: “ethics of neuroscience” or “neuroscience of ethics” (Roskies, 2002: 21-22; Cortina, 2010: 131-133; 2011: 44). The former refers to the nature of the ethics applied to review the ethical practices that imply clinically treating the human brain. The latter ‒neu- roscience of ethics‒ implies research into more transcendental philo- sophical notions of the human being ‒free will, personal identity, inten- tion and control, emotion and reason relations‒ but from the brain functions viewpoint. For some researchers, studying the brain by neurosciences allows us to talk about “neuroculture” (Mora, 2007; Frazzeto and Anker, 2009), which may help solve questions such as free will, desicion making, and even responsibility, among other elements inherent to human moral. Others, however, look at it from a more prudent viewpoint, and have indicated today’s challenges that neurosciences find with social sciences –especially ethics, economy, education and politics– in an attempt to achieve true interdisciplinary dialogue (Cortina, 2012; Salles, 2013). In line with this interdisciplinary dialogue tradition in neurosciences, the present work presents a brief review of the challenges that the ad- vances made in the neuroethics field pose to free will. As part of this review, Ramon Llull Journal_07.indd 121 30/05/16 11:56 122 RAMON LLULL JOURNAL OF APPLIED ETHICS 2016. iSSUE 7 pp. 121-141 we centre specifically on the critics of the reductionism neuroscience tradition, which basically takes B. -
Neurological Emergencies.” Postgraduate Medical Journal
“Should be read by those who decide initial management of neurological emergencies.” Postgraduate Medical Journal Since its birth as a series of articles in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry this book has moved into four editions, attesting to its lasting quality as an authoritative introduction to the major neurological emergencies. It is not just a basic reference for physicians, neurologists, neurosurgeons and psychiatrists in training. It has also become a standard text for emergency departments, with its N comprehensive yet concise discussions of immediate management. The conditions eurological covered are: ■ Medical coma ■ Cerebral infection ■ Traumatic brain injury ■ Acute spinal cord compression ■ Acute stroke ■ Acute neuromuscular respiratory ■ Delirium paralysis Neurological ■ Acute behaviour disturbances ■ Acute visual loss E ■ Tonic-clonic status epilepticus ■ Criteria for diagnosing brain mergencies ■ Raised intracranial pressure stem death Emergencies ■ Subarachnoid haemorrhage This edition has brought the book right up to date with emphasis on the evidence base for management, including reference to the relevant systematic reviews. With Fourth Edition the use of helpful summary boxes, this information – contributed by internationally respected leaders in their specialties – is quick to access in the clinical situation. Related titles from BMJ Books F The Epidemiology of Neurological Disorders ourth Edition Hughes Management of Neurological Disorders Neurological Investigations Edited by RAC Hughes Neurology and Medicine Stroke Units: an evidence based approach Neurology & Clinical Neurophysiology www.bmjbooks.com Neurological Emergencies Fourth edition Neurological Emergencies Fourth edition Edited by RAC Hughes Head, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Guy’s, King’s and St Thomas’ School of Medicine, London, UK © BMJ Publishing Group 2003 BMJ Books is an imprint of the BMJ Publishing Group All rights reserved. -
Master's Specialisation in Neurophysics
Master’s specialisation in Neurophysics Prof dr AJ van Opstal April 2020 https://www.ru.nl/opleidingen/master/neurophysics Master’s specialisation in Neurophysics This specialisation is part of the Master’s programme(s) in Physics and Astronomy It offers a flexible and interdisciplinary programme, which challenges you to unravel the workings of the most complex system known to us, the human and animal brain, using experimental, theoretical, and computational methods from the natural sciences. Focus: This a unique program in the Netherlands. We cover the full spectrum from behavioural studies with human subjects (psychophysics), computational studies of advanced brain models (neuroinformatics, computational neuroscience), to theoretical studies on intelligent systems and behaviour (machine learning, robotics, artificial intelligence, data science), and electrophysiological studies (the ‘hardware’) For whom: Students with a bachelor diploma in Physics, Science, but also Biomedical Engineering, Mathematics, or similar Master’s specialisation in Neurophysics “To understand ANY information-processing system, it has to be studied at three complementary levels, all equally necessary” (David Marr, ‘82): • L1: What is the function of the system? Why does it do what it does? What benefit does it acquire? Which problem (usually, for survival) does it solve? How does it do it? In Neuroscience, this is the research topic of Psychophysics (the goal) • L2: What is the optimal algorithm, computational principle, that underlies the observed behavior? Importantly, how can the system acquire such behavior through unsupervised learning? This is the field of Computational neuroscience and Machine Learning (the software…) • • L3: How are the algorithm(s) and behaviour(s) implemented in the system? In Neuroscience, this is the topic of Neurophysiology (the hardware…) The Neurophysics specialisation at DCN studies all three levels. -
Thèse 13.08.16
AU - DELÀ DU PHYSICALISME : LE RESSENTI DE CONSCIENCE. À la recherche d’une nécessaire articulation, attribuée aux corrélats neuronaux de la conscience, entre les processus neuronaux subséquents du cerveau et les ressentis subjectifs de conscience dans l’élaboration, au‐delà du physicalisme, d’une théorie néo‐dualiste de la conscience. 1 Dans les autres occupations, une fois qu’elles ont été menées à bien, avec peine, vient le fruit ; mais en philosophie, le plaisir va du même pas que la connaissance : car ce n’est après avoir appris que l’on jouit du fruit, mais apprendre et jouir vont ensemble. Épicure. Sentences Vaticanes, 27. 2 Tout être vivant est un fossile. Il porte en soi et jusque dans la structure microscopique de ses protéines, les traces sinon les stigmates de son ascendance. Jacques Monod, Le Hasard et la Nécessité. Et encore, Parménide dans son Poème, 4ème fragment, dit faisant allusion à l’espérance : «Mais vois pourtant comme les choses absentes, du fait de l’intellect imposent leur présence» puisque celui qui espère comme celui qui a la foi voit par la pensée les intelligibles et les futurs. Donc, si nous affirmons que quelque chose est juste et que quelque chose est beau, nous disons qu’il en est ainsi de cette chose, en vérité. Et pourtant nous ne voyons jamais par les yeux aucun de ces intelligibles et ne les appréhendons que par l’intellect . Clément d’Alexandrie ( Stromates, V, 15) 3 « L’homme est, à lui-même, le plus prodigieux objet de la nature car il ne peut concevoir ce que c’est que le corps et encore moins ce que c’est qu’esprit et moins qu’aucune chose comment un corps peut être uni avec un esprit.