Yes, that's what I mean by "illusion." It proves that there can be an illusion of free will, even if it is artificially created. In the case of other things, like pain, an illusion is not possible, because if you are in pain, then you are in pain. Before that experiment, we might have thought that free will is like pain, that you know 100% if you raise your arm that it was your own free will. But when we know there can be illusion, we know we can't be sure in each case.
You are viewing a single comment's thread from:
OK I understand what you are saying. Since there is an illusion in this case we cannot be sure that in the normal case we are not experiencing an illusion, it doesn't mean we are it just raises the possibility. In fact that also explains Illinas theory a bit better to me as I initially think I misunderstood what he was saying too because I seem to remember reading about his findings in either New Scientist or The BMJ.
Exactly, it raises the possibility. And by raising the possibility it says something about the nature of this "feeling of free will" that it is not identical to free will. In the case of "the feeling of pain" it is - in a stronger sense - identical to pain.
Note that I move away from this picture when I say that it is consciousness as a whole that is free, because even a feeling of free will is only a small part within our conscious awareness.
Exactly and the "feeling" itself may be illusory much like the sense of proprioception (position) which can be interfered with using electromagnetic induction.
Yes. Have you seen this?
Really cool :D