Given the perennial worry about "free will" and the brain and causality
and all that, which provokes a spate of ill-informed and poorly thought
out manifestos from time to time in this newsgroup, it is fortunate
that the July issue of American Psychologist (chief publication of the
American Psychological Association, the only one whiich is sent to ALL
members of APA) is devoted to various aspects of the concept of "will".
My quick skim of the contents suggests thatt these papers include
little or no reference to specific brain mechanisms, but the
discussions are empirically grounded in experimental ("cognitive
psychology") studies--which, of course, may suggest specific questions
to address in brain function investigations.
Would be good background reading so as to have something meaningful to
talk about the next time the "free will" question rears its ugly head.
F. Frank LeFever, Ph.D.
New York Neuropsychology Group
