Passivity Phenomena: Implications for the Concept of Self

Abstract

Philosophers and theoretical psychologists have in the past tried to elucidate the nature of self, volition, and agency from a fundamental position of determinism. Although the idea that we are driven to action by instincts has fallen out of favor in an age of cognitive psychology and information-processing paradigms of the mind, deterministic approaches predicted principles of the organization of voluntary behavior that can now successfully integrate psychological and neuroanatomical data. Motor acts (and thoughts) form part of a “total performance” in that they serve as tools for higher-level drives and motivations. At the same time, there is evidence to suggest that dispositions to actions (and thoughts) are induced by perceived events or objects—consistent with behaviorism—and that the actualization of these dispositions is promoted or inhibited by currently prevailing drives. The organization of the basal ganglia-thalamocortical system normally ensures that only those response tendencies are acted upon that are consistent with the organism’s current drive state. It is argued here that drive reduction experienced in conjunction with the perception of our movements and thoughts is responsible for the sense of self-generation, or “coming from me,” which is characteristic of our actions and thoughts, and that, when dispositions to such actions and thoughts are excited by environmental or “inner” stimuli in a manner that defies prevailing drives, passivity experiences can arise.