自由意志と神経科学—リベットによる実験とそのさまざまな解釈—

抄録

In 1980s, Benjamin Libet and his colleagues conducted a series of experiments on voluntary acts. Its result is that certain brain potential (RP) precedes conscious will, which has excited much discussion about the existence and nature of free will. This paper shows that this result admits various interpretations about RP, conscious will, and their relation, depending on philosophical assumptions concerning free will and the relation between mind and brain. I also argue that the process of deliberation, rather than the momentary decision, should be the focus of investigation in order to elucidate the role of conscious will and the nature of free will.