Cited by 561Free Will and AgencyPhilosophy and Theoretical ScienceEmbodied and Extended Cognition

The mind's best trick: how we experience conscious will

Wegner, Daniel M·2003·Trends in Cognitive Sciences

Abstract

We often consciously will our own actions. This experience is so profound that it tempts us to believe that our actions are caused by consciousness. It could also be a trick, however - the mind's way of estimating its own apparent authorship by drawing causal inferences about relationships between thoughts and actions. Cognitive, social, and neuropsychological studies of apparent mental causation suggest that experiences of conscious will frequently depart from actual causal processes and so might not reflect direct perceptions of conscious thought causing action.

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Crossref · 10.1016/s1364-6613(03)00002-0

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49 of 49 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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Authors
Wegner, D. M.
Affiliations
Harvard University (US)
Corresponding author
Wegner, Daniel M
Venue
Trends in Cognitive Sciences
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2003-02
Volume
7
Issue
2
Pages
65-69
ISSN
1364-6613 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2172001786
Cited by
561
References
49
Citations by year
2026: 37 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 21 · 2023: 24 · 2022: 25 · 2021: 22 · 2020: 76 · 2019: 25 · 2018: 39 · 2017: 32 · 2016: 20 · 2015: 27 · 2014: 33 · 2013: 24 · 2012: 20
FWCI
1.14
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Trends in Cognitive Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Free Will and Agency
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Philosophy and Theoretical Science
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Embodied and Extended Cognition
Keywords
conscious will, free will, causal inference, mind-body problem, illusion of free will

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