{"product_id":"the-illusion-of-conscious-will","title":"The Illusion of Conscious Will","description":"\u003cp\u003eSelected as a Finalist in the category of Psychology\/Mental Health in the 2002 Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPYs) presented by Independent Publisher Magazine.  Silver Award Winner for Philosophy in the 2002 ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Awards. and Selected as an Outstanding Academic Book for 2002 by Choice Magazine  Do we consciously cause our actions  or do they happen to us? Philosophers  psychologists  neuroscientists  theologians  and lawyers have long debated the existence of free will versus determinism. In this book Daniel Wegner offers a novel understanding of the issue. Like actions  he argues  the feeling of conscious will is created by the mind and brain. Yet if psychological and neural mechanisms are responsible for all human behavior  how could we have conscious will? The feeling of conscious will  Wegner shows  helps us to appreciate and remember our authorship of the things our minds and bodies do. Yes  we feel that we consciously will our actions  Wegner says  but at the same time  our actions happen to us. Although conscious will is an illusion  it serves as a guide to understanding ourselves and to developing a sense of responsibility and morality.  Approaching conscious will as a topic of psychological study  Wegner examines the issue from a variety of angles. He looks at illusions of the will-those cases where people feel that they are willing an act that they are not doing or  conversely  are not willing an act that they in fact are doing. He explores conscious will in hypnosis  Ouija board spelling  automatic writing  and facilitated communication  as well as in such phenomena as spirit possession  dissociative identity disorder  and trance channeling. The result is a book that sidesteps endless debates to focus  more fruitfully  on the impact on our lives of the illusion of conscious will.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44966577963061,"sku":"ByrdShop_0262232227","price":227.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780262232227.jpg?v=1770569527","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-illusion-of-conscious-will","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}