Kellar Abstract

Contemporary Concepts of Motor Control: Is There a Place for Free Will?

A careful consideration of contemporary concepts of motor control reveals many aspects that, in my opinion, are compatible with the possibility that humans can perform free actions, at least under certain conditions. The main argument that will be developed in this paper is that, although we are not conscious of all determinants and factors shaping our actions, this does not imply that our freedom is an illusion. Even if many external and internal stimuli can trigger reflexive responses, under normal conditions we are able to inhibit such automatic responses. Human behavior consists of two aspects: 1) suppressing reflex responses; 2) initiating purposeful behaviour according to a specific plan. Human freedom, in my opinion, manifests itself in the ability of keeping a specific course in life. This requires inhibiting many reflexive urges calling for immediate action to earn a short-term reward, and initiating actions toward long-term rewards that, by the very reason that they lie in the future, are aleatory. My argument is that our motor systems are constructed in order to enable this state of things, by incorporating powerful inhibitory mechanisms into brain circuits associated with voluntary control of movement.