Is there still hope for free will in neuroscience?
http://now.dartmouth.edu/2013/03/neuroscientist-says-humans-are-wired-for-free-will/
No. Take, for example, the process of buying a new car, he says. It begins by setting criteria: The car should get good mileage, have a good reputation, the price will be within a certain range, and the car must be red. Then, when a vehicle comes along that fits the bill, the choice is made. “That choice does not need to be made consciously. What’s made consciously is the setting of the criteria for making a future choice—coming to the conclusion, OK, I want this kind of car, and when it comes along, poof, you say, ‘Oh, that’s the car I wanted,’” Tse says. You setting the criteria for making a future choice is not made consciously, as you don't have control over those thoughts. The choice to buy a specific car is you recognizing the criteria that were unconsciously chosen by you. 1
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Our conscious thought we can control and therefore we set up a criteria we consciously think about. Our conscious thought is controlled by our unconscious mind. Thoughts cannot cause themselves, our unconscious mind controls rapid synaptic reweighting, which is what the article claims gives us free will. 1
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