Action theory (philosophy)
Encyclopedia
Action theory is an area in philosophy
concerned with theories
about the processes causing
willful
human bodily movements
of more or less complex kind. This area of thought has attracted the strong interest of philosophers ever since Aristotle
's Nicomachean Ethics
(Third Book). With the advent of psychology
and later neuroscience
, many theories of action are now subject to empirical testing.
Philosophical action theory, or the 'philosophy of action', should not be confused with sociological theories of social action, such as the action theory
established by Talcott Parsons
.
), the desire and belief jointly cause the action. Michael Bratman
has raised problems for such a view and argued that we should take the concept of intention as basic and not analyzable into beliefs and desires.
In some theories a desire plus a belief about the means of satisfying that desire are always what is behind an action. Agents aim, in acting, to maximize the satisfaction of their desires. Such a theory of prospective rationality underlies much of economics
and other social sciences within the more sophisticated framework of Rational Choice. However, many theories of action argue that rationality extends far beyond calculating the best means to achieve one's ends. For instance, a belief that I ought to do X, in some theories, can directly cause me to do X without my having to want to do X (i.e. have a desire to do X). Rationality, in such theories, also involves responding correctly to the reasons an agent perceives, not just acting on wants.
While action theorists generally employ the language of causality
in their theories of what the nature of action is, the issue of what causal determination comes to has been central to controversies about the nature of free will
.
Conceptual discussions also revolve around a precise definition of action in philosophy. Scholars may disagree on which bodily movements fall under this category, e.g. whether thinking should be analysed as action, and how complex actions involving several steps to be taken and diverse intended consequences are to be summarised or decomposed.
to do something might be considered a mental action by some. However, others think it is not an action unless the decision is carried out. Unsuccessfully try
ing to do something might also not be considered an action for similar reasons (for e.g. lack of bodily movement). It is contentious whether believing
, intending
, and thinking
are actions since they are mental events.
Some would prefer to define actions as requiring bodily
movement (see behaviorism
). The side effect
s of actions are considered by some to be part of the action; in an example from Anscombe
's manuscript Intention, pumping water can also be an instance of poisoning the inhabitants. This introduces a moral
dimension to the discussion (see also Moral agency
). If the poisoned water resulted in a death, that death might be considered part of the action of the agent that pumped the water. Whether a side effect is considered part of an action is especially unclear in cases in which the agent isn't aware of the possible side effects. For example, an agent that accidentally cures a person by administering a poison he was intending to kill him with.
A primary concern of the philosophy of action is to analyze the nature of actions and distinguish them from similar phenomena. Other concerns include individuating actions, explaining the relationship between actions and their effects, explaining how an action is related to the beliefs and desires which cause and/or justify it (see practical reason
), as well as examining the nature of agency. A primary concern is the nature of free will and whether actions are determined by the mental states that precede them (see determinism
). Some philosophers (e.g. Donald Davidson
) have argued that the mental states the agent invokes as justifying his action are physical states that cause the action. Problems have been raised for this view because the mental states seem to be reduced to mere physical causes. Their mental properties don't seem to be doing any work. If the reasons an agent cites as justifying his action, however, are not the cause of the action, they must explain the action in some other way or be causally impotent.
"Total Commitment, Blondel's L'Action" by James Sommerville, published by Corpus Books,1968, 390 pages
"Maurice Blondel, An Introduction to the Man and His Philosophy" by Jean Lacroix, translated by Johnm C. Guinness, published by Sheed and Ward, New York, 1968, paperback, 158 pages
http://philosophyofaction.com/
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
concerned with theories
Theory
The English word theory was derived from a technical term in Ancient Greek philosophy. The word theoria, , meant "a looking at, viewing, beholding", and referring to contemplation or speculation, as opposed to action...
about the processes causing
Causality
Causality is the relationship between an event and a second event , where the second event is understood as a consequence of the first....
willful
Will (philosophy)
Will, in philosophical discussions, consonant with a common English usage, refers to a property of the mind, and an attribute of acts intentionally performed. Actions made according to a person's will are called "willing" or "voluntary" and sometimes pejoratively "willful"...
human bodily movements
Motor system
The motor system is the part of the central nervous system that is involved with movement. It consists of the pyramidal and extrapyramidal system....
of more or less complex kind. This area of thought has attracted the strong interest of philosophers ever since Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
's Nicomachean Ethics
Nicomachean Ethics
The Nicomachean Ethics is the name normally given to Aristotle's best known work on ethics. The English version of the title derives from Greek Ἠθικὰ Νικομάχεια, transliterated Ethika Nikomacheia, which is sometimes also given in the genitive form as Ἠθικῶν Νικομαχείων, Ethikōn Nikomacheiōn...
(Third Book). With the advent of psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
and later neuroscience
Neuroscience
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system. Traditionally, neuroscience has been seen as a branch of biology. However, it is currently an interdisciplinary science that collaborates with other fields such as chemistry, computer science, engineering, linguistics, mathematics,...
, many theories of action are now subject to empirical testing.
Philosophical action theory, or the 'philosophy of action', should not be confused with sociological theories of social action, such as the action theory
Action theory (sociology)
In sociology, action theory refers to the theory of social action presented by the American theorist Talcott Parsons.Parsons established action theory in order to integrate the study of social order with the structural and voluntaristic aspects of macro and micro factors...
established by Talcott Parsons
Talcott Parsons
Talcott Parsons was an American sociologist who served on the faculty of Harvard University from 1927 to 1973....
.
Overview
Basic action theory typically describes action as behavior caused by an agent in a particular situation. The agent's desires and beliefs (e.g. my wanting a glass of water and believing the clear liquid in the cup in front of me is water) lead to bodily behavior (e.g. reaching over for the glass). In the simple theory (see Donald DavidsonDonald Davidson (philosopher)
Donald Herbert Davidson was an American philosopher born in Springfield, Massachusetts, who served as Slusser Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley from 1981 to 2003 after having also held teaching appointments at Stanford University, Rockefeller University, Princeton...
), the desire and belief jointly cause the action. Michael Bratman
Michael Bratman
Michael E Bratman is Durfee Professor in the School of Humanities & Sciences and Professor of Philosophy at Stanford University. His interests include philosophy of action and moral philosophy. His work in those areas led him to the Belief-Desire-Intention model that is used in many areas,...
has raised problems for such a view and argued that we should take the concept of intention as basic and not analyzable into beliefs and desires.
In some theories a desire plus a belief about the means of satisfying that desire are always what is behind an action. Agents aim, in acting, to maximize the satisfaction of their desires. Such a theory of prospective rationality underlies much of economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
and other social sciences within the more sophisticated framework of Rational Choice. However, many theories of action argue that rationality extends far beyond calculating the best means to achieve one's ends. For instance, a belief that I ought to do X, in some theories, can directly cause me to do X without my having to want to do X (i.e. have a desire to do X). Rationality, in such theories, also involves responding correctly to the reasons an agent perceives, not just acting on wants.
While action theorists generally employ the language of causality
Causality
Causality is the relationship between an event and a second event , where the second event is understood as a consequence of the first....
in their theories of what the nature of action is, the issue of what causal determination comes to has been central to controversies about the nature of free will
Free will
"To make my own decisions whether I am successful or not due to uncontrollable forces" -Troy MorrisonA pragmatic definition of free willFree will is the ability of agents to make choices free from certain kinds of constraints. The existence of free will and its exact nature and definition have long...
.
Conceptual discussions also revolve around a precise definition of action in philosophy. Scholars may disagree on which bodily movements fall under this category, e.g. whether thinking should be analysed as action, and how complex actions involving several steps to be taken and diverse intended consequences are to be summarised or decomposed.
Discussion
For example, throwing a ball is an instance of action; it involves an intention, a goal, and a bodily movement guided by the agent. On the other hand, catching a cold is not considered an action because it is something which happens to a person, not something done by one. Generally an agent doesn't intend to catch a cold or engage in bodily movement to do so (though we might be able to conceive of such a case). Other events are less clearly defined as actions or not. For instance, distractedly drumming ones fingers on the table seems to fall somewhere in the middle. DecidingDecision making
Decision making can be regarded as the mental processes resulting in the selection of a course of action among several alternative scenarios. Every decision making process produces a final choice. The output can be an action or an opinion of choice.- Overview :Human performance in decision terms...
to do something might be considered a mental action by some. However, others think it is not an action unless the decision is carried out. Unsuccessfully try
Try
A try is the major way of scoring points in rugby league and rugby union football. A try is scored by grounding the ball in the opposition's in-goal area...
ing to do something might also not be considered an action for similar reasons (for e.g. lack of bodily movement). It is contentious whether believing
Belief
Belief is the psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true.-Belief, knowledge and epistemology:The terms belief and knowledge are used differently in philosophy....
, intending
Intention
Intention is an agent's specific purpose in performing an action or series of actions, the end or goal that is aimed at. Outcomes that are unanticipated or unforeseen are known as unintended consequences....
, and thinking
Thought
"Thought" generally refers to any mental or intellectual activity involving an individual's subjective consciousness. It can refer either to the act of thinking or the resulting ideas or arrangements of ideas. Similar concepts include cognition, sentience, consciousness, and imagination...
are actions since they are mental events.
Some would prefer to define actions as requiring bodily
Body
With regard to living things, a body is the physical body of an individual. "Body" often is used in connection with appearance, health issues and death...
movement (see behaviorism
Behaviorism
Behaviorism , also called the learning perspective , is a philosophy of psychology based on the proposition that all things that organisms do—including acting, thinking, and feeling—can and should be regarded as behaviors, and that psychological disorders are best treated by altering behavior...
). The side effect
Unintended consequence
In the social sciences, unintended consequences are outcomes that are not the outcomes intended by a purposeful action. The concept has long existed but was named and popularised in the 20th century by American sociologist Robert K. Merton...
s of actions are considered by some to be part of the action; in an example from Anscombe
G. E. M. Anscombe
Gertrude Elizabeth Margaret Anscombe , better known as Elizabeth Anscombe, was a British analytic philosopher from Ireland. A student of Ludwig Wittgenstein, she became an authority on his work and edited and translated many books drawn from his writings, above all his Philosophical Investigations...
's manuscript Intention, pumping water can also be an instance of poisoning the inhabitants. This introduces a moral
Moral
A moral is a message conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim...
dimension to the discussion (see also Moral agency
Moral agency
Moral agency is a person's ability to make moral judgments and take action that comport with morality.A Moral agent is "a being who is capable of acting with reference to right and wrong"-Development and analysis:...
). If the poisoned water resulted in a death, that death might be considered part of the action of the agent that pumped the water. Whether a side effect is considered part of an action is especially unclear in cases in which the agent isn't aware of the possible side effects. For example, an agent that accidentally cures a person by administering a poison he was intending to kill him with.
A primary concern of the philosophy of action is to analyze the nature of actions and distinguish them from similar phenomena. Other concerns include individuating actions, explaining the relationship between actions and their effects, explaining how an action is related to the beliefs and desires which cause and/or justify it (see practical reason
Practical reason
In philosophy, practical reason is the use of reason to decide how to act. This contrasts with theoretical reason , which is the use of reason to decide what to believe. For example: agents use practical reason to decide whether to build a telescope, but theoretical reason to decide which of two...
), as well as examining the nature of agency. A primary concern is the nature of free will and whether actions are determined by the mental states that precede them (see determinism
Determinism
Determinism is the general philosophical thesis that states that for everything that happens there are conditions such that, given them, nothing else could happen. There are many versions of this thesis. Each of them rests upon various alleged connections, and interdependencies of things and...
). Some philosophers (e.g. Donald Davidson
Donald Davidson (philosopher)
Donald Herbert Davidson was an American philosopher born in Springfield, Massachusetts, who served as Slusser Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley from 1981 to 2003 after having also held teaching appointments at Stanford University, Rockefeller University, Princeton...
) have argued that the mental states the agent invokes as justifying his action are physical states that cause the action. Problems have been raised for this view because the mental states seem to be reduced to mere physical causes. Their mental properties don't seem to be doing any work. If the reasons an agent cites as justifying his action, however, are not the cause of the action, they must explain the action in some other way or be causally impotent.
Scholars of action theory
- Thomas AquinasThomas AquinasThomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...
- Hannah ArendtHannah ArendtHannah Arendt was a German American political theorist. She has often been described as a philosopher, although she refused that label on the grounds that philosophy is concerned with "man in the singular." She described herself instead as a political theorist because her work centers on the fact...
- Robert AudiRobert AudiRobert Audi is an American philosopher whose major work has focused on epistemology, ethics—especially on ethical intuitionism-and the theory of action. He is O'Brien Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, and previously held a Chair in the Business School there...
- G. E. M. AnscombeG. E. M. AnscombeGertrude Elizabeth Margaret Anscombe , better known as Elizabeth Anscombe, was a British analytic philosopher from Ireland. A student of Ludwig Wittgenstein, she became an authority on his work and edited and translated many books drawn from his writings, above all his Philosophical Investigations...
- AristotleAristotleAristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
- Jonathan BennettJonathan Bennett (philosopher)Jonathan Francis Bennett is a British philosopher of language and metaphysics, and a historian of early modern philosophy.Born in Greymouth, New Zealand, Bennett was educated at the University of Oxford. He has taught at the University of Cambridge , Simon Fraser University , the University of...
- Maurice BlondelMaurice BlondelMaurice Blondel was a French philosopher.Blondel developed a "philosophy of action” that integrated classical Neoplatonic thought with modern Pragmatism in the context of a Christian philosophy of religion...
- Michael BratmanMichael BratmanMichael E Bratman is Durfee Professor in the School of Humanities & Sciences and Professor of Philosophy at Stanford University. His interests include philosophy of action and moral philosophy. His work in those areas led him to the Belief-Desire-Intention model that is used in many areas,...
- Hector-Neri CastañedaHector-Neri CastañedaHéctor-Neri Castañeda was a Guatemalan philosopher and founder of the journal Noûs.Born in San Vicente, Zacapa, Guatemala, he emigrated to the United States in 1948 and studied under Wilfrid Sellars at the University of Minnesota, where he earned a B.A. in 1950 and M.A. in 1952. Castañeda...
- David CharlesDavid CharlesProfessor David Owain Maurice Charles is Colin Prestige Fellow, Professor of Philosophy, and Director of Graduate Studies at Oriel College, Oxford. Prof...
- August CieszkowskiAugust CieszkowskiCount August Cieszkowski was a Polish philosopher, economist and social and political activist...
- Arthur CollinsArthur CollinsArthur Francis Collins was an American singer who recorded a significant number of early records. With tenor singer Byron G...
- Jonathan DancyJonathan DancyJonathan Peter Dancy is a British philosopher, working on epistemology and on ethics. He is currently Professor Emeritus at the University of Reading and Professor of Philosophy at University of Texas at Austin.-Biography:...
- Donald DavidsonDonald Davidson (philosopher)Donald Herbert Davidson was an American philosopher born in Springfield, Massachusetts, who served as Slusser Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley from 1981 to 2003 after having also held teaching appointments at Stanford University, Rockefeller University, Princeton...
- William H. Dray
- Fred DretskeFred DretskeFrederick Irwin Dretske is a philosopher noted for his contributions to epistemology and the philosophy of mind. His more recent work centers on conscious experience and self-knowledge. Additionally, he was awarded the Jean Nicod Prize in 1994...
- Ignacio EllacuriaIgnacio EllacuríaIgnacio Ellacuría, S.J. was a Jesuit priest, philosopher, and theologian who did important work as a professor and rector at the Universidad Centroamericana "José Simeón Cañas" , a Jesuit university in El Salvador founded in 1965...
- John Martin FischerJohn Martin FischerJohn Martin Fischer is currently a distinguished professor of philosophy at the University of California Riverside. In June 2011, Professor Fischer was elected Vice-President of the Pacific Division of the American Philosophical Association...
- Harry FrankfurtHarry FrankfurtHarry Gordon Frankfurt is an American philosopher. He is professor emeritus of philosophy at Princeton University and has previously taught at Yale University and Rockefeller University. He obtained his B.A. in 1949 and Ph.D. in 1954 from...
- Carl GinetCarl GinetCarl Ginet is an American philosopher and Professor Emeritus at Cornell University. His work is primarily in action theory, moral responsibility, free will, and epistemology....
- Alvin I. Goldman
- Jürgen HabermasJürgen HabermasJürgen Habermas is a German sociologist and philosopher in the tradition of critical theory and pragmatism. He is perhaps best known for his theory on the concepts of 'communicative rationality' and the 'public sphere'...
- Hegel
- Carl Hempel
- Rosalind HursthouseRosalind Hursthouse-Biography:Hursthouse spent her childhood in New Zealand and taught for many years at the Open University in England. She was head of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Auckland from 2002 to 2005...
- David HumeDavid HumeDavid Hume was a Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist, known especially for his philosophical empiricism and skepticism. He was one of the most important figures in the history of Western philosophy and the Scottish Enlightenment...
- Jennifer HornsbyJennifer HornsbyJennifer Hornsby is a British philosopher with interests in the philosophies of mind, action, language, as well as feminist philosophy. She is currently a professor at the School of Philosophy, Birkbeck, University of London. She is well-known for her opposition to orthodoxy in current analytic...
- John Hyman
- Hans JoasHans JoasHans Joas is a German sociologist and social theorist.Joas is the Director of the Max Weber Center for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies at the University of Erfurt and Professor of Sociology and a Member of the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago. He currently serves as...
- Robert KaneRobert Kane (philosopher)Robert Hilary Kane is an American philosopher. He is Distinguished Teaching Professor of Philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin, and is currently on phased retirement....
- Anthony KennyAnthony KennySir Anthony John Patrick Kenny FBA is an English philosopher whose interests lie in the philosophy of mind, ancient and scholastic philosophy, the philosophy of Wittgenstein and the philosophy of religion...
- Jaegwon KimJaegwon KimJaegwon Kim is a Korean American philosopher currently working at Brown University. He is best known for his work on mental causation and the mind-body problem. Key themes in his work include: a rejection of Cartesian metaphysics, the limitations of strict psychophysical identity, supervenience,...
- Christine KorsgaardChristine KorsgaardChristine Marion Korsgaard is an American philosopher and academic whose main scholarly interests are in moral philosophy and its history; the relation of issues in moral philosophy to issues in metaphysics, the philosophy of mind, and the theory of personal identity; the theory of personal...
- Loet LeydesdorffLoet LeydesdorffLoet Leydesdorff is a Dutch sociologist, cyberneticist and Senior Lecturer at the University of Amsterdam. He is known for his work in the sociology of communication and innovation.- Biography :...
- John McDowellJohn McDowellJohn Henry McDowell is a South African philosopher, formerly a fellow of University College, Oxford and now University Professor at the University of Pittsburgh. Although he has written extensively on metaphysics, epistemology, ancient philosophy, and meta-ethics, McDowell's most influential work...
- Alfred R. Mele
- Ludwig von MisesLudwig von MisesLudwig Heinrich Edler von Mises was an Austrian economist, philosopher, and classical liberal who had a significant influence on the modern Libertarian movement and the "Austrian School" of economic thought.-Biography:-Early life:...
- Thomas NagelThomas NagelThomas Nagel is an American philosopher, currently University Professor of Philosophy and Law at New York University, where he has taught since 1980. His main areas of philosophical interest are philosophy of mind, political philosophy and ethics...
- Timothy O'ConnorTimothy O'ConnorTimothy O'Connor was a Fianna Fáil member of the Dáil Éireann in the Ireland representing the constituency of Kerry South from 1961 to 1981. He stood unsuccessfully in the 1979 European Parliament election for the Munster constituency. He lost his seat in the 1981 general election.-External links:*...
- Juan Antonio Pérez LópezJuan Antonio Pérez LópezJuan Antonio Pérez López was a Spanish business theorist. He was professor of Organizational Behavior at the Instituto de Estudios Superiores de la Empresa , where he became Dean . He was also a visiting professor at PAD Business School of the Universidad de Piura and IAE Business School of the...
- Brian O'ShaughnessyBrian O'ShaughnessyBrian O'Shaughnessy may refer to:*Brian O'Shaughnessy , Australian philosopher*Brian O'Shaughnessy , South African actor and voiced Jet Jungle*Brian O'Shaughnessy , London based music producer...
- Joseph RazJoseph RazJoseph Raz is a legal, moral and political philosopher. He is one of the most prominent advocates of legal positivism. He has spent most of his career as professor of philosophy of law and a fellow of Balliol College, Oxford, and simultaneously as professor of law at Columbia University Law...
- Thomas ReidThomas ReidThe Reverend Thomas Reid FRSE , was a religiously trained Scottish philosopher, and a contemporary of David Hume, was the founder of the Scottish School of Common Sense, and played an integral role in the Scottish Enlightenment...
- Raymond ReiterRaymond ReiterRaymond Reiter , was a Canadian computer scientist and logician. He was one of the founders of the field of non-monotonic reasoning with his work on default logic, model-based diagnosis, closed world reasoning, and truth maintenance systems...
- Paul RicoeurPaul RicoeurPaul Ricœur was a French philosopher best known for combining phenomenological description with hermeneutic interpretation...
- John SearleJohn SearleJohn Rogers Searle is an American philosopher and currently the Slusser Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley.-Biography:...
- Wilfrid SellarsWilfrid SellarsWilfrid Stalker Sellars was an American philosopher. His father was the Canadian-American philosopher Roy Wood Sellars, a leading American philosophical naturalist in the first half of the twentieth-century...
- Michael Smith
- Galen StrawsonGalen StrawsonGalen John Strawson is a British philosopher and literary critic who works primarily on philosophy of mind, metaphysics , John Locke, David Hume and Kant. He was educated at the Dragon School, Oxford , from where he won a scholarship to Winchester College...
- Charles TaylorCharles Taylor (philosopher)Charles Margrave Taylor, is a Canadian philosopher from Montreal, Quebec best known for his contributions in political philosophy, the philosophy of social science, and in the history of philosophy. His contributions to these fields have earned him both the prestigious Kyoto Prize and the...
- Richard TaylorRichard Taylor (philosopher)Richard Taylor was an American philosopher renowned for his dry wit and his contributions to metaphysics. He was also an internationally-known beekeeper....
- Irving ThalbergIrving ThalbergIrving Grant Thalberg was an American film producer during the early years of motion pictures. He was called "The Boy Wonder" for his youth and his extraordinary ability to select the right scripts, choose the right actors, gather the best production staff and make very profitable films.-Life and...
- Michael ThompsonMichael ThompsonMichael Thompson may refer to:*Mike Thompson , United States Representative from California's 1st congressional district*Michael Thompson *Michael Thompson , American guitarist...
- Judith Jarvis ThomsonJudith Jarvis ThomsonJudith Jarvis Thomson is an American moral philosopher and metaphysician, best known for her use of thought experiments to make philosophical points.- Career :...
- David Velleman
- Candace VoglerCandace VoglerCandace A. Vogler is a professor of Philosophy at the University of Chicago.Professor Vogler received her Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Pittsburgh. Her specific fields of interest are ethics, feminism, action theory, and social and political philosophy, as well as sexuality and gender...
- R. Jay WallaceR. Jay WallaceR. Jay Wallace is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley. His area of specialization is moral philosophy. He is most noted for his work on practical reason, moral psychology, and meta-ethics.-Biography:...
- Gary WatsonGary WatsonGary Watson is a retired British television actor who started out as a stage actor most notably acting in Friedrich Hebbel's 1962 play Judith at Her Majesty's Theatre in London, England with Sean Connery...
- George WilsonGeorge Wilson-Arts and entertainment:* George Wilson , British actor* George Balch Wilson , American composer, Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan* George Washington Wilson , pioneering Scottish photographer...
- Georg Henrik von WrightGeorg Henrik von WrightGeorg Henrik von Wright was a Finnish philosopher, who succeeded Ludwig Wittgenstein as professor at the University of Cambridge. He published in English, Finnish, German, and in Swedish. Belonging to the Swedish-speaking minority of Finland, von Wright also had Finnish and 17th-century Scottish...
- Ludwig WittgensteinLudwig WittgensteinLudwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He was professor in philosophy at the University of Cambridge from 1939 until 1947...
- Max WeberMax WeberKarl Emil Maximilian "Max" Weber was a German sociologist and political economist who profoundly influenced social theory, social research, and the discipline of sociology itself...
- Xavier ZubiriXavier ZubiriXavier Zubiri was a Spanish philosopher noted for his intellectual rigor. A major accomplishment of Zubiri's philosophy is its systematic development of a new conception of reality such that within it man, as a "sentient intelligence," appears in a different light...
See also
Maurice Blondel's 1893 "L'Action""Total Commitment, Blondel's L'Action" by James Sommerville, published by Corpus Books,1968, 390 pages
"Maurice Blondel, An Introduction to the Man and His Philosophy" by Jean Lacroix, translated by Johnm C. Guinness, published by Sheed and Ward, New York, 1968, paperback, 158 pages
Further reading
- G. E. M. Anscombe (1957). Intention, Basil Blackwell, Oxford.
- Donald Davidson (1980). Essays on Actions and Events, Clarendon Press, Oxford.
- Jennifer Hornsby (1980). Actions, Routledge, London.
- Alfred R. Mele (ed.) (1997). The Philosophy of Action, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
- John Hyman & Helen Steward (eds.) (2004). Agency and Action, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
- Anton Leist (ed.) (2007). Action in Context, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin.
- Timothy O'Connor & Constantine Sandis (eds.) (2010). A Companion to the Philosophy of Action, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford.
- Constantine Sandis (ed.) (2009). New Essays on the Explanation of Action, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke.
External links
http://philosophyofaction.com/