On Willing Selves Neoliberal Politics and the Challenge of Neuroscience

Postmodern theories heralded the 'death of the subject', and thereby deeply contested our intuition that we are free and willing selves. In recent times, the (free) will has come under attack yet again. Findings from the neuro- and cognitive sciences claim the concept of will to be scientifically untenable, specifying that it is our brain rather than our 'self' which decides what we want to do. In spite of these challenges, however, the willing self has come to take centre stage in our society: juridical and moral practices ascribing guilt, or the organization of everyday life attributing responsibilities, for instance, can hardly be understood without taking recourse to the willing subject.

SABINE MAASEN is Professor for Science Studies at the University of Basel. Her research interests include the dynamics of knowledge, social construction of volition and consciousness, neosocial governmentality, and new forms of knowledge production. A related publication is on Voluntary Action: On Brains, Minds, and Sociality (with Wolfgang Prinz & Gerhard Roth, 2003). BARBARA SUTTER is Research Assistant at the University of Basel. Her training is in sociology, political science, and philosophy and her research work focuses on transformations of the social by politics of participation and responsibilization.