Decoupling the decision[i]

In the beginning of the interview, RLK[ii] drove Thalia to agree that philosophers need to take neuroscientists into consideration when arguing over free will. I know that is difficult for neuroscientist to compatible a biological plausible theory that deals with billions of neurons because they know “the terms” (how the brain works, etc…).
Thalia says that is not possible to put the physical system together the free will based on her experiments that have showed that neuroscientist can cause action in patients without they have the sense of free will, so this sense is an illusion or whatever.
In her experiments with some “games”, individuals made something without the feeling of will or she put electrons in their arms that excited their hands to do movements, decoupling the feeling of action, decision, behavior. Or, she dissociated the feeling of doing from the action of doing.
The implication is that the feeling of doing is not relevant, but why do we need this feeling? For her, for simple actions like moving an object we don’t need to know we are doing that.
Lastly, an important factor for decoupling the feeling of doing from doing is the hypnosis as a method, so doing something without having the control. The hypnosis paradigm it is the only way she found so far, but it sounds like a messy sometimes. The individuals did remember what they did but didn’t remember the decision to do that (the electricity did!!!). And, of the course, the problem of the amount of electrons in the body of the testers.
She finalizing saying the main critic she receives is that the experiments only show no free will for small actions but do not prove anything about big decision like get married and others, but, for her, this is a start point and philosophers need to deal with this fact.


[i] According to the interview with Thalia Wheatley about Philosophy of Free Will, accessed in March, 30 2020: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go7LNWV2mOo&t. Do not forget Daniel Wegner as well, e.g., The Illusion of Conscious Will.
[ii] Robert Lawrence Kuhn.

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