What is the difference between actions we perform and things which merely happen to us? What is the relation between intending to act, acting with an intention, and intentional action? Is one of these categories more fundamental than the others, such that the other categories can be explained in terms of it? If so, which one? What is the relation between a past intention and a present intentional action, such that the agent executes, or acts on, that intention? This course will examine various foundational issues in 20th and 21st century work in the philosophy of action in the analytic tradition. Topics to be covered may include: causalist vs non-causalist accounts of the nature of intentional action; willing and trying; weakness of will; acting for a reason; and intending.
Useful Background Reading:
Paul, S., 2020. Philosophy of Action: A Contemporary Introduction. London: Routledge.
B.A. LA GyGe: M5; M6; M10; M11
B.A. HRSGe: M5A und M5B; M6A und M6B
B.A. (ab WS 2012/13): M5; M6; M10; M11
M.A. (ab WS 2012/13): Ia, IIa, IIIa
M.Ed. GyGe (ab WS 2014/15): M2; M8
M.Ed. HRSGe (ab WS 2014/15): M2
