Kommentar: |
Human beings act together in characteristic ways. We walk, dine, play games, and travel together. One question this seminar deals with is what happens when we perform such joint or shared actions. One might think that a necessary condition is that the individual participants intend to do things together. If so, what exactly is the content of this intention? And what do we need to know or believe about other participants if we are to act together? Another question is metaphysical. When we act together, we act as a group. But how should we understand the nature of this entity? Does a group have its own mental states, such as belief and intention, that are not reducible to those of its members, or is it an agent only in some figurative sense? Yet another question is normative: often when we act together, we deliberate or reason together. What are the norms that such activities are essentially goverend by? In this seminar, we will navigate through these issues by engaging with Michael Bratman’s book, as well as some classic articles on this topic.
This seminar will be taught in English, and will consist mainly in discussion on assigned readings. Active engagement with the texts and participation in class are essential. |
Literatur: |
Bratman, M. (2014), „ Shared Agency: A Planning Theory of Acting Together“, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Other readings will be distributed electronically. |