Free Will and Neural Activity in Consequential Action (360G-Wellcome-211799_Z_18_Z)

Neuroscientific and psychological studies have found that neural activity precedes the intention to act by several seconds, indicating that our actions are predetermined by unconscious neural computation. A major shortcoming of these studies is that the acts tested are trivial (e.g. move a finger at a time of your choosing), having no real-world implications. In a series of EEG experiments, we will assess complex choices that participants make. First, participants will be asked to choose to press one of two buttons. Then, they will be asked to a) ‘reward’ or ‘punish’ a person arbitrarily, b) reward or punish a person in response to a moral act, c) choose how much to reward or punish the individual based on their action, and finally, d) choose reward and punishment allocations within social or economic constraints, to reflect real-world decision-making. This will allow us to test if there is neural activity prior to the intention to act and also to compare between consequential and inconsequential choices. The investigation of neural activity in consequential action, examined in the light of philosophical analyses, addresses an essential unanswered question of past studies, and promises to shed new light on the nature and existence of free will.