The Illusion Of Conscious Will (mit Press)
by Daniel M. Wegner /
2017 / English / PDF, EPUB
13.1 MB Download
A new edition of Wegner's classic and controversial work,
arguing that conscious will simply reminds of us the authorship
of our actions.
A new edition of Wegner's classic and controversial work,
arguing that conscious will simply reminds of us the authorship
of our actions.
Do we consciously cause our actions, or do they happen to us?
Philosophers, psychologists, neuroscientists, theologians, and
lawyers have long debated the existence of free will versus
determinism. With the publication of
Do we consciously cause our actions, or do they happen to us?
Philosophers, psychologists, neuroscientists, theologians, and
lawyers have long debated the existence of free will versus
determinism. With the publication ofThe Illusion of Conscious
Will
The Illusion of Conscious
Will in 2002, Daniel Wegner proposed an innovative and
provocative answer: the feeling of conscious will is created by
the mind and brain; it helps us to appreciate and remember our
authorship of the things our minds and bodies do. Yes, we feel
that we consciously will our actions, Wegner says, but at the
same time, our actions happen to us. Although conscious will is
an illusion ("the most compelling illusion"), it serves as a
guide to understanding ourselves and to developing a sense of
responsibility and morality. Wegner was unable to undertake a
second edition of the book before his death in 2013; this new
edition adds a foreword by Wegner's friend, the prominent
psychologist Daniel Gilbert, and an introduction by Wegner's
colleague Thalia Wheatley.
in 2002, Daniel Wegner proposed an innovative and
provocative answer: the feeling of conscious will is created by
the mind and brain; it helps us to appreciate and remember our
authorship of the things our minds and bodies do. Yes, we feel
that we consciously will our actions, Wegner says, but at the
same time, our actions happen to us. Although conscious will is
an illusion ("the most compelling illusion"), it serves as a
guide to understanding ourselves and to developing a sense of
responsibility and morality. Wegner was unable to undertake a
second edition of the book before his death in 2013; this new
edition adds a foreword by Wegner's friend, the prominent
psychologist Daniel Gilbert, and an introduction by Wegner's
colleague Thalia Wheatley.
Approaching conscious will as a topic of psychological study,
Wegner examines cases both when people feel that they are willing
an act that they are not doing and when they are not willing an
act that they in fact are doing in such phenomena as hypnosis,
Ouija board spelling, and dissociative identity disorder.
Approaching conscious will as a topic of psychological study,
Wegner examines cases both when people feel that they are willing
an act that they are not doing and when they are not willing an
act that they in fact are doing in such phenomena as hypnosis,
Ouija board spelling, and dissociative identity disorder.
Wegner's argument was immediately controversial (called
"unwarranted impertinence" by one scholar) but also compelling.
Engagingly written, with wit and clarity,
Wegner's argument was immediately controversial (called
"unwarranted impertinence" by one scholar) but also compelling.
Engagingly written, with wit and clarity,The Illusion of
Conscious Will
The Illusion of
Conscious Will was, as Daniel Gilbert writes in the foreword
to this edition, Wegner's "magnum opus."
was, as Daniel Gilbert writes in the foreword
to this edition, Wegner's "magnum opus."