Does Benjamin Libet's work rule out free will?

[BigMacnFries]

Has anyone Benjamin Libet's work on free will (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Libet is a brief summary). Does anyone know of any objections to why his work does not suggest that all behavior is brain based. Does it seem really weird to anyone one else that all this I/ you are doing could be physically based?

 

[selfAdjoint]

We had a couple of threads on Libet's work a few months ago. It does indeed throw a challenge to the concept of free will.

 

[Tournesol]

As usual, everyone is overlookign the fact that Libet himself does not draw
an anti-free-will conclusions. Readiness potentials are not always followed
by actions, which Libet considers as constituing a veto or "free won't".

 

[Les Sleeth]

I don't see a basis for the leap from Libet's study to the conclusion that human behavior is only brain-based. So what if part of the biological system is programmed or reactive, that doesn't mean all of consciousness is. To me it is logical that the physical system could react without conscious direction to help with survival (isn't the autonomic system doing some of that?). So if my hand wants to move before I will it to, that might just be my autoreact system beating out my will system.

 

[BigMacnFries]

Thanks, i found the previous thread, very interesting