> From: "Danhall, Anna" <almd195@soton.ac.uk>
> Date: Fri, 24 May 1996 18:24:08 +0100 (BST)
>
> 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.
Good job; for an A, relate it to the bigger issues: Causality, the
Turing Test, the Blind Watchmaker, Reverse Engineering.
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