?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=The+evolutionary+origins+of+volition&rft.creator=Christensen%2C+Dr+Wayne&rft.subject=Philosophy+of+Mind&rft.subject=Animal+Cognition&rft.subject=Evolution&rft.description=It+appears+to+be+a+straightforward+implication+of+distributed+cognition+principles+that+there+is+no+integrated+executive+control+system+(e.g.+Brooks+1991%2C+Clark+1997).+If+distributed+cognition+is+taken+as+a+credible+paradigm+for+cognitive+science+this+in+turn+presents+a+challenge+to+volition+because+the+concept+of+volition+assumes+integrated+information+processing+and+action+control.+For+instance+the+process+of+forming+a+goal+should+integrate+information+about+the+available+action+options.+If+the+goal+is+acted+upon+these+processes+should+control+motor+behavior.+If+there+were+no+executive+system+then+it+would+seem+that+processes+of+action+selection+and+performance+couldn%E2%80%99t+be+functionally+integrated+in+the+right+way.+The+apparently+centralized+decision+and+action+control+processes+of+volition+would+be+an+illusion+arising+from+the+competitive+and+cooperative+interaction+of+many+relatively+simple+cognitive+systems.+Here+I+will+make+a+case+that+this+conclusion+is+not+well-founded.+Prima+facie+it+is+not+clear+that+distributed+organization+can+achieve+coherent+functional+activity+when+there+are+many+complex+interacting+systems%2C+there+is+high+potential+for+interference+between+systems%2C+and+there+is+a+need+for+focus.+Resolving+conflict+and+providing+focus+are+key+reasons+why+executive+systems+have+been+proposed+(Baddeley+1986%2C+Norman+and+Shallice+1986%2C+Posner+and+Raichle+1994).+This+chapter+develops+an+extended+theoretical+argument+based+on+this+idea%2C+according+to+which+selective+pressures+operating+in+the+evolution+of+cognition+favor+high+order+control+organization+with+a+%E2%80%98highest-order%E2%80%99+control+system+that+performs+executive+functions.+&rft.publisher=MIT+Press&rft.contributor=Spurrett%2C+Dr+David&rft.contributor=Kincaid%2C+Dr+Harold&rft.contributor=Ross%2C+Dr+Don&rft.contributor=Stephens%2C+Dr+Lynn&rft.date=2007&rft.type=Book+Chapter&rft.type=PeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F6590%2F2%2FChristensen_2007_The_evolutionary_origins_of_volition.pdf&rft.identifier=++Christensen%2C+Dr+Wayne++(2007)+The+evolutionary+origins+of+volition.++%5BBook+Chapter%5D+++++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F6590%2F