Attention and Mental Control

In "Attention and Mental Control," Carolyn Dicey Jennings illustrates that philosophers and cognitive scientists approach attention control differently. Philosophers analyze the conceptual and theoretical aspects of attention, focusing on its role in mental control, self-regulation, and broader philosophical questions about the mind. They explore how attention is fundamental to mental agency and self-control. Cognitive scientists, however, empirically study attention as a cognitive process, investigating its neural mechanisms, how it influences perception and behavior, and its role in executive functions like working memory and inhibitory control. Their approach is data-driven, using experiments and neuroimaging to understand attention's underlying mechanisms.