Why is there a problem about consciousnesss as a cause?
When I apply a force to an object it starts moving in accordance with
the laws of physics. If we look at the actual intent to move the
object, was that not a conscious decision on my part? Libet tried to
show that the conscious intention to act occurs after the preparations
to act have already been put in motion. Subjects were told to flex
their wrist at any time they chose, and to record the point at which
they decided to do so by noticing the position of a dot on a clock
face. Libet found that the conscious decision to flex the wrist lagged
up to 350ms behind the onset of the motor potentials that caused the
movement. Therefore consciousness can not be the cause of the movement.
Our actions are governed by the neurobiological processes of the brain.
These processes themselves must be governed by the laws of physics. If
our conscious mind caused the neurobiological processes of the brain to
change - as in making a decision to do something - this would violate
these laws. Consciousness is also a product of some neurobiological
process. It may feel as though we made the conscious decision to flex
our wrist, but it must be the neurobiological processes of the brain
that caused the movement and made us think it was our conscious
decision.
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