Dr. John A. Barg

פורסם: 9.02.12, 4:08 am

Field of reference: Psychology

Description: Where our sense of free will comes from

"Especially in contrast with our subjective sense of the determined past, the experience of our own behavior in the present seems particularly spontaneous and “free.” Because we do not experience at the same time all of the unconscious influences and impulses that produced that behavior (see Bargh & Morsella, 2007), our phenomenal experience is hugely biased in the direction of feeling that we have much more freedom than we actually do. But our feelings, like much else about us, have evolved because of their adaptive significance and are essential for normal cognitive functioning (e.g., Gray, Schaefer, Braver, & Most, 2005; Tranel, Bechara, & Damasio, 2000). We have also learned that feelings of being in control are far more beneficial to our functioning than are feelings of helplessness; thus these subjective feelings of free will are one of the “positive illusions” (Taylor, 1989) we hold dear. Yet this benefit is irrelevant to the scientific status or truth value regarding the actual existence of free will; however positive and adaptive the feeling, it is still an illusion."

Link to the academic paper

שייך לנושאים: 1-13 - חינוך אינטגרלי, -מקורות מדעיים, השפעת הסביבה, 4. תוצר הסביבה

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