Moral Behavior and Free Will. A Neurobiological and Philosophical Approach

Moral Behavior and Free Will. A Neurobiological and Philosophical Approach PDF Author: Juan José Sanguineti
Publisher:
ISBN: 9788895565644
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 430

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Book Description

Moral Behavior and Free Will. A Neurobiological and Philosophical Approach

Moral Behavior and Free Will. A Neurobiological and Philosophical Approach PDF Author: Juan José Sanguineti
Publisher:
ISBN: 9788895565644
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 430

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Book Description


Did My Neurons Make Me Do It?

Did My Neurons Make Me Do It? PDF Author: Nancey Murphy
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191526916
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
If humans are purely physical, and if it is the brain that does the work formerly assigned to the mind or soul, then how can it fail to be the case that all of our thoughts and actions are determined by the laws of neurobiology? If this is the case, then free will, moral responsibility, and, indeed, reason itself would appear to be in jeopardy. Nancey Murphy and Warren S. Brown here defend a non-reductive version of physicalism whereby humans are (sometimes) the authors of their own thoughts and actions. Did My Neurons Make Me Do It? brings together insights from both philosophy and the cognitive neurosciences to defeat neurobiological reductionism. One resource is a 'post-Cartesian' account of mind as essentially embodied and constituted by action-feedback-evaluation-action loops in the environment, and 'scaffolded' by cultural resources. Another is a non-mysterious account of downward (mental) causation explained in terms of a complex, higher-order system exercising constraints on lower-level causal processes. These resources are intrinsically related: the embeddedness of brain events in action-feedback loops is the key to their mentality, and those broader systems have causal effects on the brain itself. With these resources Murphy and Brown take on two problems in philosophy of mind: a response to the charges that physicalists cannot account for the meaningfulness of language nor the causal efficacy of the mental qua mental. Solutions to these problems are a prerequisite to addressing the central problem of the book: how can biological organisms be free and morally responsible? The authors argue that the free-will problem is badly framed if it is put in terms of neurobiological determinism; the real issue is neurobiological reductionism. If it is indeed possible to make sense of the notion of downward causation, then the relevant question is whether humans exert downward causation over some of their own parts and processes. If all organisms do this to some extent, what needs to be added to this animalian flexibility to constitute free and responsible action? The keys are sophisticated language and hierarchically ordered cognitive processes allowing (mature) humans to evaluate their own actions, motives, goals, and rational and moral principles.

Did My Neurons Make Me Do It?

Did My Neurons Make Me Do It? PDF Author: Nancey C. Murphy
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 9780199568239
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
If humans are purely physical, then must all our thoughts and actions be determined by the laws of neurobiology? Free will, moral responsibility, and reason itself appear to be in jeopardy. But Murphy and Brown present a non-reductive version of physicalism which leaves room for us to be (sometimes) the authors of our own thoughts and actions.

Making a Scientific Case for Conscious Agency and Free Will

Making a Scientific Case for Conscious Agency and Free Will PDF Author: William R. Klemm
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0128052899
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 119

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Book Description
Making a Scientific Case for Conscious Agency and Free Will makes a series of arguments that certain human behaviors are impossible to explain in the absence of free will, and that free will emerges from materialistic processes of brain function. It outlines future directions for neuroscience studies that can harness emerging technologies and tools for systems-level analysis. All humans have the sensation that they consciously will certain things to happen and that, in the absence of external constraints, they are free to choose from among alternatives. This notion of free will is deemed obvious by the average person based on common experience. Free will is frequently defended with arguments stemming from social, legal, philosophical, and religious perspectives. But these arguments appeal to consequences—not causes—of choices and decisions. In the past 3 decades, debate has raged within the scientific community over whether free will is in fact an illusion. Because free will would require conscious agency, the supporting corollary is that consciousness itself cannot do anything and is merely an observer rather than an actor. - Considers arguments for and against free will from religious, social, legal, and neuroscience perspectives - Provides thorough coverage of the manifold human behaviors that can be explained only by free will, from consciousness to creativity - Outlines future directions for further neuroscience research into the topic

Is Science Compatible with Free Will?

Is Science Compatible with Free Will? PDF Author: Antoine Suarez
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461452120
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 477

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Book Description
Anyone who claims the right ‘to choose how to live their life’ excludes any purely deterministic description of their brain in terms of genes, chemicals or environmental influences. For example, when an author of a text expresses his thoughts, he assumes that, in typing the text, he governs the firing of the neurons in his brain and the movement of his fingers through the exercise of his own free will: what he writes is not completely pre-determined at the beginning of the universe. Yet in the field of neuroscience today, determinism dominates. There is a conflict between the daily life conviction that a human being has free will, and deterministic neuroscience. When faced with this conflict two alternative positions are possible: Either human freedom is an illusion, or deterministic neuroscience is not the last word on the brain and will eventually be superseded by a neuroscience that admits processes not completely determined by the past. This book investigates whether it is possible to have a science in which there is room for human freedom. The book generally concludes that the world and the brain are governed to some extent by non-material agencies, and limited consciousness does not abolish free will and responsibility. The authors present perspectives coming from different disciplines (Neuroscience, Quantumphysics and Philosophy) and range from those focusing on the scientific background, to those highlighting rather more a philosophical analysis. However, all chapters share a common characteristic: they take current scientific observations and data as a basis from which to draw philosophical implications. It is these features that make this volume unique, an exceptional interdisciplinary approach combining scientific strength and philosophical profundity. We are convinced that it will strongly stimulate the debate and contribute to new insights in the mind-brain relationship. ​

Free Will and Moral Responsibility

Free Will and Moral Responsibility PDF Author: Justin Caouette
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1443853232
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
Determinism is, roughly, the thesis that facts about the past and the laws of nature entail all truths. A venerable, age-old dilemma concerning responsibility distils to this: if either determinism is true or it is not true, we lack “responsibility-grounding” control. Either determinism is true or it is not true. So, we lack responsibility-grounding control. Deprived of such control, no one is ever morally responsible for anything. A number of the freshly-minted essays in this collection address aspects of this dilemma. Responding to the horn that determinism undermines the freedom that responsibility (or moral obligation) requires, the freedom to do otherwise, some papers in this collection debate the merits of Frankfurt-style examples that purport to show that one can be responsible despite lacking alternatives. Responding to the horn that indeterminism implies luck or randomness, other papers discuss the strengths or shortcomings of libertarian free will or control. Also included in this collection are essays on the freedom requirements of moral obligation, forgiveness and free will, a “desert-free” conception of free will, and vicarious legal and moral responsibility. The authors of the essays in this volume are philosophers who have made significant contributions to debates in free will, moral responsibility, moral obligation, the reactive attitudes, philosophy of action, and philosophical psychology, and include John Martin Fischer, Robert Kane, Michael McKenna, Alfred Mele, and Derk Pereboom.

Theological Neuroethics

Theological Neuroethics PDF Author: Neil Messer
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0567671410
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
Neil Messer brings together a range of theoretical and practical questions raised by current research on the human brain: questions about both the 'ethics of neuroscience' and the 'neuroscience of ethics'. While some of these are familiar to theologians, others have been more or less ignored hitherto, and the field of neuroethics as a whole has received little theological attention. Drawing on both theological ethics and the science-and-theology field, Messer discusses cognitive-scientific and neuroscientific studies of religion, arguing that they do not give grounds to dismiss theological perspectives on the human self. He examines a representative range of topics across the whole field of neuroethics, including consciousness, the self and the value of human life; the neuroscience of morality; determinism, freewill and moral responsibility; and the ethics of cognitive enhancement.

Catholic Neurotheology

Catholic Neurotheology PDF Author: Andrew Newberg
Publisher: Vernon Press
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
The topic of “neurotheology” has garnered increasing attention in the academic, religious, scientific, and popular worlds. It is the field of study that explores the intersection between the brain and religious and spiritual phenomena. However, there have been no extensive attempts at exploring specifically how Catholic religious thought and experience may intersect with neurotheology. The purpose of 'Catholic Neurotheology' is to fully engage this groundbreaking area. Topics are related to a neurotheological approach to the foundational Catholic beliefs derived from Scripture and Tradition, an exploration of the various elements of Catholicism and of Catholic rituals and practices, and a review of Catholic spiritualities and mysticism. Specific Catholic scholars are considered in terms of the relationships among their ideas/teachings and different brain processes. 'Catholic Neurotheology' engages these topics in an easy-to-read style and incorporates scientific, religious, philosophical, and theological aspects of the emerging field of neurotheology. By reviewing the concepts in a stepwise, simple, yet thorough discussion, readers regardless of their background will be able to understand the complexities and breadth of neurotheology from a Catholic perspective. More broadly, issues include a review of the neurosciences and neuroscientific techniques; religious and spiritual experiences; theological development and analysis; liturgy and ritual; philosophy, epistemology, and ethics; and social implications, all from a Catholic perspective.

Free Will

Free Will PDF Author: Meghan Griffith
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0415562198
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 162

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Book Description
The question of whether humans are free to make their own decisions has long been debated and it continues to be a controversial topic today. In Free Will: The Basics readers are provided with a clear and accessible introduction to this central but challenging philosophical problem. The questions which are discussed include: Does free will exist? Or is it illusory? Can we be free even if everything is determined by a chain of causes? If our actions are not determined, does this mean they are just random or a matter of luck? In order to have the kind of freedom required for moral responsibility, must we have alternatives? What can recent developments in science tell us about the existence of free will? Because these questions are discussed without prejudicing one view over others and all technical terminology is clearly explained, this book is an ideal introduction to free will for the uninitiated.

The Oxford Handbook of Emotional Development

The Oxford Handbook of Emotional Development PDF Author: Daniel Dukes
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192597930
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 720

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Book Description
Emotional Development is a topic that embraces a range of disciplines, including, psychology, neuroscience, sociology, primatology, philosophy, history, cognitive science, computer science, and education. The Oxford Handbook of Emotional Development is the first volume of its kind to include such a multidisciplinary group of experts to consider this topic, and as such, provides perhaps the most complete examination yet of how emotions develop and manifest themselves neuronally, intra- and interpersonally, across different cultures and species, and over time. The volume is separated into five themes: macro and micro underpinnings; communication and understanding; interactive contexts; socialization and learning; and morality and prosocial behaviour. Each section includes contributions from researchers in at least three disciplines, resulting in a volume that is destined to provoke the interested reader into either purposively or accidentally discovering emotional development from novel and stimulating perspectives. The chapters are written to be concise in their overview and accessible to the researcher or intellectually curious person alike. The reader can enjoy state of the art critical analysis of emotional development from different viewpoints, which, whether dipped into casually or read as a whole, will provide the best view of not only what we know today about emotional development, but also where the future study of emotional development lies. The Oxford Handbook of Emotional Development is an original and important contribution to the literature in psychology and the affective sciences.