Philosophy of action

Philosophy of action is chiefly concerned with human action, intending to distinguish between activity and passivity, voluntary, intentional, culpable and involuntary actions, and related question.

Related Topics:
Philosophy - Action

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The field is often defined by the quote of Ludwig Wittgenstein: "What is left over if I subtract the fact that my arm goes up from the fact that I raise my arm?"

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The problems of analytical philosophy of action include:

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• What are the temporal limits of an action? For instance, can an action end before its result occurs?
• Is an action the same as some bodily movement? Does one movement under different descriptions constitute different actions?
• Is an action the same as some event? Does one event under different descriptions constitute different actions?
• How are actions to be explained or rationalized? Must there be a causal link between the explanation and the action (as suggested by Donald Davidson)? In what way are the agent's intentions involved?
 
Philosophy of action: See also ►