The concept of voluntary action arises in many areas of study, including cognitive psychology, operant conditioning, philosophy, neurology, criminology, and others.
For example, Psychologist Charles Nuckolls holds that we control our voluntary behavior, and that it is not known how we come to plan what actions will be executed.
[2] The concept of voluntary action was discussed by William James in his influential book The Principles of Psychology (1890).
James states that for an act to be classified as a voluntary, it must be foreseen, as opposed to involuntary action which occurs without foresight.
Some of the terms that James used to describe voluntary action – such as desire – are now outdated, and his introspective approach is out of favor, but many of his ideas are still find a place in current thinking.