Why we may not find intentions in the brain.
Intentions are commonly conceived of as discrete mental states that are the direct cause of actions. In the last several decades, neuroscientists have taken up the project of finding the neural implementation of intentions, and a number of areas have been posited as implementing these states. We argue, however, that the processes underlying action initiation and control are considerably more dynamic and context sensitive than the concept of intention can allow for. Therefore, adopting the notion of 'intention' in neuroscientific explanations can easily lead to misinterpretation of the data, and can negatively influence investigation into the neural correlates of intentional action. We suggest reinterpreting the mechanisms underlying intentional action, and we will discuss the elements that such a reinterpretation needs to account for.
Radboud University Nijmegen, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, PO Box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands; University of Parma, Department of Neuroscience-Section of Physiology, Via Volturno 39, 43120 Parma, Italy. Electronic address: sebouithol@gmail.com.
Sebo
S
Uithol
University of California, San Diego, Department of Philosophy, Interdisciplinary Cognitive Sciences Program, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, San Diego, CA 92093, USA.
Daniel C
DC
Burnston
Radboud University Nijmegen, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, PO Box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Pim
P
Haselager
D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention
Action; Intention; Motor control; Prefrontal cortex