SeminarPast EventCognition

Free will over time: Distinguishing top-down and now-then control

Schedule
Wednesday, November 17, 2021
00:00 UTC
John-Dylan Haynes/Kristina Krasich/Samuel Murray

Drs.

Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin/Duke University

Host: NeuroPhilosophy of Free Will

Event Information

Host

NeuroPhilosophy of Free Will

Duration

70 minutes

Abstract

Self-control is a central aspect of free will. Because self-control is often described in terms of resisting temptations, research on the cognitive neuroscience of free will often focuses on mechanisms of top-down regulation. We argue that this obscures a crucial temporal dimension of free will: now-then regulation. We distinguish now-then regulation from top-down regulation, and situate now-then regulation within a broader account of temporally extended agency. In highlighting this temporal dimension of control, we aim to provide a more nuanced account of how motivation informs action over time, different kinds of regulatory processes underlying the planning and execution of action, and the temporal components of reasons-responsiveness.

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