Neuroscience of Free Will: Libet's Experiments on Conscious Decision-Making
Benjamin Libet's 1980s experiments on readiness potential suggest unconscious brain activity precedes conscious decisions, challenging free will. Libet found that electrical charges indicating readiness potential occurred before subjects reported deciding to flex their wrists. He proposed that free will may operate as a veto mechanism—'free won't'—allowing conscious override of unconscious impulses. Libet avoided strict determinism, advocating a 'non-determinist' view that preserves subjective experience. Critics argue his evidence contradicts free will, while Libet maintained that subjective consciousness cannot be fully reduced to brain events. The philosophical tension between mechanistic explanations and rational agency persists, as psychological studies of irrationality assume we are truth-seeking beings capable of objective self-evaluation.
Key facts
- Benjamin Libet conducted experiments in the early 1980s on readiness potential.
- Readiness potential is brain activity preceding voluntary actions, measured via scalp electrodes.
- Subjects flexed wrists at will and reported clock position of decision.
- Readiness potential preceded reported will to act, even in spontaneous actions.
- Libet concluded the brain initiates actions unconsciously.
- Libet proposed conscious veto ('free won't') can stop unconscious impulses.
- Libet preferred 'non-determinism' over denying free will.
- Libet argued subjective experience is not fully reducible to brain events.
Entities
Artists
- Benjamin Libet