Consciousness and Free Will Research

Support for a research program that aims to answer an empirical question via close collaboration between neuroscientists and philosophers. In particular, we will test (I) whether human intentions are causally efficacious for our decisions and behavior; (2) what is the specific role of consciousness when intentions guide behavior; and (3) what, if any, is the difference between conscious control in deliberate versus arbitrary decisions. Beyond making progress on one of the most fundamental questions in the debate on free will, this large-scale project will be central to ushering in a new, interdisciplinary scientific field: the philosophically guided neuroscientific study of free will.