Evaluation

• practical value

  - Even if we don’t have entire free will, thinking we do can improve mental health.

  - Robert’s et all looked at adolescence who had strong beliefs in fatalism.

  - They had a greater risk of developing depression

  - Believing in free will is good for our mind
• Research evidence

  - Libet et al- instructed participants to choose a random moment to flick their wrist while he measured activity in their brain.

  - He found that unconscious brain activity came before participants consciously chose to move

  - Our most basic experiences of free will are determined by our brain before we are aware of them.
• Counterpoint to Research evidence

  - Libels findgins are what we would expect

  - Just because the action comes before the conscious awareness, doesn’t mean there wasn’t a decision to act. Only that the decision took time to reach consciousness

  - The evidence is not appropriate to challenge free will