# The Brain Can Reveal a Decision Before the Self Knows It Has Decided by Eric R. Kandel > “Amazingly, Libet found that the readiness potential appeared not after, but 200 milliseconds before a person felt the urge to move his or her finger! Thus by merely observing the electrical activity of the brain, Libet could predict what a person would do before the person was actually aware of having decided to do it.” > **— Eric R. Kandel**, *2006, Edge Annual Question, “WHAT IS YOUR DANGEROUS IDEA?”* ## Sources and Context - **Direct Edge response and surrounding essay:** [Free will is exercised unconsciously, without awareness](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/10894) — Edge published this exact, continuous passage in its 2006 Annual Question collection, *WHAT IS YOUR DANGEROUS IDEA?*. The response page preserves the surrounding argument and qualifications. - **Complete local collection index:** [[research/Edge 2006 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 2006 Full Quotation Curation]] — retained source-first record for the response cohort and this passage's promotion status. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Consciousness Continuity|Consciousness Continuity]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] - **Article:** [[articles/Mind Uploading and AI — The Host is Reusable and the Person is the Delta|Host Infrastructure Overview]] - **Article:** [[articles/Technologies for Consciousness Mapping and Transfer|Consciousness Mapping and Transfer]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Last Migration Will Not Be Human|The Last Migration]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Personal Identity|Personal Identity]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Personal Identity|Personal Identity]] - [[wiki/Free Will|Free Will]] - [[wiki/Self-Awareness|Self-Awareness]] - [[wiki/Predictive Processing|Predictive Processing]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “Amazingly, Libet found that the readiness potential appeared not after, but 200 milliseconds before a person felt the urge to move his or her finger! Thus by merely observing the electrical activity of the brain, Libet could predict what a person would do before the person was actually aware of having decided to do it.” — Eric R. Kandel, 2006, Edge Annual Question, “WHAT IS YOUR DANGEROUS IDEA?” https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-eric-kandel-brain-reveal-decision-before-self-knows ```