From Brain to Mind: A Plain Route from Neurobiology to Psychology

Abstract

Mind sciences have not yet provided a definitive answer to the dual nature of self and to the existence of Free-will (FW), so the mechanisms operating in cognitive processes such as action decision-making remain partially elusive. In this review, we address the question of a so-called “voluntary” action from the agent’s and the scientist’s points of view (respectively from 1st and 3rd person perspectives) and conclude that the “Bignetti Model” (TBM) may offer a solution to reconcile both; i.e. FW is an illusion in line with the agent’s belief in the soulembodied self and, along with this belief, it may play a functional role in cognition. With TBM, we explain cognition in a bottom-up track from a molecular to a psychological level without the need of soul-body duality.