in the early ‘80s, benjamin libet designed an elegant experiment to help us understand the mechanisming in the brain. this is the libet experiment. all i have to do is watch the spinning dots and click a button whenever i feel like it — then report to the scientist at what time i felt the urge to click. meanwhile, my brain activity is being monitored. most of us would assume that our choices register as an increase in brain activity and result in us clicking the button — but what's actually observed is a build—up of brain activity — called the readiness potential — a full second earlier than the conscious urge to click. this has been replicated hundreds of times. what are the implications of this kind of experiment? so, the folk definition of free will is that your mind controls your body — meaning that your mind is free to decide what to do and send the command to your body — but — when you consider the libet experiment — it means that conscious intentions — instead of being the cause of motor preparation — is the consequence of an antecedent brain activity — so it challenges this d