The Neuroscience of Freedom and Creativity Our Predictive Brain [Hardcover]

A scientific, uniquely factual account of the role of the brain in freedom and creativity.In a fascinating exploration of the question of free will, eminent cognitive neuroscientist, Joaqu?n Fuster, argues that the liberty or freedom to choose between alternatives is a function of the nervous system, especially the cerebral cortex, in its reciprocal interaction with the environment. Freedom is inseparable from that circular relationship.In a fascinating exploration of the question of free will, eminent cognitive neuroscientist, Joaqu?n Fuster, argues that the liberty or freedom to choose between alternatives is a function of the nervous system, especially the cerebral cortex, in its reciprocal interaction with the environment. Freedom is inseparable from that circular relationship.Professor Joaqu?n M. Fuster is an eminent cognitive neuroscientist whose research over the last five decades has made fundamental contributions to our understanding of the neural structures underlying cognition and behaviour. This book provides his view on the eternal question of whether we have free will. Based on his seminal work on the functions of the prefrontal cortex in decision-making, planning, creativity, working memory, and language, Professor Fuster argues that the liberty or freedom to choose between alternatives is a function of the cerebral cortex, under prefrontal control, in its reciprocal interaction with the environment. Freedom is therefore inseparable from that circular relationship. 'The Neuroscience of Freedom and Creativity' is a fascinating inquiry into the cerebral foundation of our ability to choose between alternative actions and to freely lead creative plans to their goal.1. Introduction; 2. Evolutionary roots of freedom; 3. Anatomy of cognition; 4. The perception/action cycle; 5. Memory of the future; 6. Freedom in speech; 7. Liberty, responsibility, and social order. Joaquin Fuster is a distinguished pioneer in the exploration of the brains prefrontal cortex,lÄ