1

enter image description here

I'm unable to understand this GIF of Benjamin Libet's free will experiment.

Please look at the bottom left of the diagram and you'll see the numbers 1 followed by 2 and then by 3.

What I think is happening

  1. The part of your brain controlling your finger fires.

  2. This stage represents you making a conscious decision to move your finger.

  3. Your finger moves.

The yellow circle around the zig-zag wires represents a light bulb detector.

Is my reading of the GIF correct?

For more details visit Benjamin Libet

Improve this question

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
3

IMO your interpretation is correct.

The explanation of the above scetch of Libet's experiment says:

  • 0 repose
  • 1 (−500 ms) EEG measures Readiness potential
  • 2 (−200 ms) Person notes the position of the dot when decides
  • 3 ( 0 ms) Act

The relevant question concerning free will asks: What does happen at time 2?

Does the person decide consciously at time 2, or does the person only register, what has been determined at time 1 by her unconscious mental processes?

Added: Please see also the interesting paper from the first link of @mudskipper. The linked paper from 2008 reports an improvement of the Libet experiment. Its result is a refined localisation and time determination of the unconscious origin of movements which were intended as "free" decisions by the test person.

Improve this answer
4
  • 1
    +1 For interesting follow-up experiments by Heinze and Haynes (predictions with delay of > 10 sec), see "Unconscious determinants of free decisions in the human brain" (Nature, 2008), behavioralhealth2000.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/… For a good , short critical review see: templeton.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/FreeWill-JTF-Final.pdf I would add that a relevant question is also: What does it mean that "the person decides" -- why would the process from 1. up to 2. not be considered part of that?
    – mudskipper
    Commented Jul 20 at 13:44
  • @mudskipper Generally, to take a "decision" means a conscious mental process. Of course the whole Libet process operates within a person. But naming the whole process a decision forces one to split a decision into a conscious and a non-conscious part. Do you prefer to do so? - Thanks for pointing to the paper of Soon, Brass, Heinze and Haynes. 10 sec seems quite a lot!
    – Jo Wehler
    Commented Jul 20 at 13:56
  • As to the role of consciousness - I think there are other views too (see also the Templeton Foundation report that I linked to). What's interesting are also the experiments of Schleger (also referenced in that report) with hypnotized subjects ; Schleger found no relation between RP and any conscious awareness of intention (as probably could be expected with hypnotized subjects :)
    – mudskipper
    Commented Jul 20 at 14:07
  • Thank you for the confirmation. I didn't notice the 0 position. This is evidence that our decisions may not be consciously made. In essence if free were a possibility the sequence would've been 0, 2, (1), 3. Correct?
    – Hudjefa
    Commented Jul 20 at 19:55

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .