Conscious automatism (C.A.) is a position on the philosophic question that asks whether determinism, as distinguished from âÂÂfree willâÂÂ, can be considered the sole operant principle in human decision making. The term âÂÂconscious automataâ was introduced by Thomas H. Huxley in 1874 as part of a famous address he delivered in Belfast titled "On the Hypothesis that Animals are Automata, and Its History".