Freedom from the will, freedom from the law

[Guest guest]

>Neurobiologists have measured how long certain visual perceptions >take to register in consciousness... This time delay--about 200 >milliseconds--means that a tennis star at Wimbledon must return a >serve well before becoming conscious of the serve's approach. >"Our everyday experience of having conscious experiences and >acting because of them is in most cases an illusion," says Gray. >"Consciousness comes too late to affect behaviour."

 

This conclusion is somewhat misleading. As all accomplished athletes know, an absence of mental noise is a prerequisite of peak performance. While the registering of events in consciousness is always necessarily after the fact, and thus incapable of influencing present moment responses in accordance with its designs, it is

well known that the very presence of conscious thought dilutes attention, thus impeding performance. In athletics, as in other arenas, a preoccupation with anticipated results--whether motivated by desire or fear--disrupts clarity and harmonious functioning.

 

Yet there is such a thing as effective practice, however it may be motivated. Imagine a randomly selected group of people attempting to compete against an established team of professional athletes.

 

Effective practice entails performance within the venue of clear intent, absent the operation of any critical faculty. Intent provides the criteria for adjustment of action based upon clear observation of results. Clear observation of results is only possible in the absence of moral judgment.

 

There is, of course, also the possibility of ineffectual practice. Ineffective practice is often referred to as "trying too hard." The operation of fear or ambition during the execution of any action is sure to impair its effectiveness. The application of positive or negative judgments about the perceived doer of the action is also devastating.

 

Children perhaps best exemplify the proper mode of practice. For example, when learning to walk, an infant simply does it over and over, fearlessly and playfully. Invariably they are met with success. The same is true of language acquisition, which surely ranks among the most complex accomplishments of humans.

~ tomas

[Guest guest]

Sandeep: It's miracle how I ever learned my R & Rs?

 

That's even more daunting than attending to one's p's and q's.

 

~ tomas

[Guest guest]

Obviously free will exists -- it's

the feeling of tension and anxiety that

occurs while the next bit of life

unfolds.

 

-

 

Sandeep Chatterjee

Realization

Saturday, September 08, 2001 9:24 AM

Freedom from the will, freedom from the law

 

 

Freedom from the will,freedom from the law > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >

 

Alongside all the esoteric laboratory tinkering and airy philosophizing about hard problems, the study of consciousness has a ................................................

[Guest guest]

Freedom from the will,freedom from the law > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >

 

Alongside all the esoteric laboratory tinkering and airy philosophizing about hard problems, the study of consciousness has a practical side, too. For example, legal scholars are beginning to worry about whether neurobiology might blast away the foundations of Western legal systems and the concept of human rights. They have good reason to worry. Modern neurobiologists and neurophilosophers of consciousness such as Patricia Churchland at the University of San Diego deride voluntary choice, free will, and similar concepts as mere "folk psychology". Indeed, consciousness may have surprisingly little power to affect behavior, according to some of the work now coming out of research labs. For example, neurobiologists have measured how long certain visual perceptions take to register in consciousness, says Jeffrey Gray, a neurobiologist at the Institute of Psychiatry in London. This time delay--about 200 milliseconds--means that a tennis star at Wimbledon must return a serve well before becoming conscious of the serve's approach. "Our everyday experience of having conscious experiences and acting because of them is in most cases an illusion," says Gray. "Consciousness comes too late to affect behavior." But if that's true, then our cherished notion that we can make a voluntary, conscious choice to do good or evil goes straight out of the window. And with it goes the basis for our legal system, says David Hodgson of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, the lone lawyer to speak at the conference. Western legal tradition puts great stock in the concept of intent, says Hodgson. To be found guilty of a crime, a person must consciously choose to commit the illegal act. Those who are unaware of their actions or who are coerced by a power beyond their control are let off the hook. For some crimes, notably rape, the voluntary consent of the victim is also at issue. If conscious choice is just a myth, however, this standard vanishes. Neuroscientists need to consider whether they are ready to sweep all this away, says Hodgson. "What do they see as replacing the consent of the woman in determining whether an act of sexual intercourse is voluntary or rape?" he asks. "There's very good reason to continue to insist on the fundamental distinction between acts which are voluntary and acts which are not."