| Kommentar |
Inhalte:
This course introduces central problems in the philosophy of action. There are things that you do as an agent and things that happen to you. What, then, makes something an action you perform rather than a mere event? Moreover, there are things that you do intentionally (or „on purpose“) and things you do unintentionally. When you act intentionally, your action can be given a rationalizing explanation. Two of the central questions related to this phenomenon are: „how exactly does citing a person’s reason provides illumination of her action?“ and „how are intentional actions related to unintentional ones“? And the second question naturally shifts our focus to the notion of intention, which seems to be the kind of mental state responsible for initiating and sustaining action: how exactly is the mental state of intention related to action?; does intending an action entail knowledge of what you are doing?; how is it possible for you to intend what you believe is a bad thing for you to do? Finally, we will delve into the issue of how it is possible for “us” to share our intentions and act together with each other. This course will be taught in English. Close engagement of the assigned texts will be expected from students, along with regular participation in class. |
