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Action theory (philosophy)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Action theory is an area in philosophy concerned with theories about the processes causing willful human
bodily movements of a 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.

What is left over if I subtract the fact that my arm goes up from the fact that I raise my arm?

Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations §621

Contents
1 Overview
2 Discussion
3 Scholars of action theory
4 References
5 Further reading
6 External links

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 Davidson), 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.

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. Deciding 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 trying 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 effects 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 with which he was intending to
kill him.

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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.

Scholars of action theory

Maria Alvarez Hegel Paul Ricoeur

Thomas Aquinas Carl Hempel Constantine Sandis
Hannah Arendt Rosalind Hursthouse John Searle
Robert Audi David Hume Scott Sehon
G. E. M. Anscombe Jennifer Hornsby Wilfrid Sellars
Aristotle John Hyman Michael Smith
Jonathan Bennett Hans Joas Galen Strawson
Maurice Blondel Robert Kane Charles Taylor
Michael Bratman Anthony Kenny Richard Taylor
Hector-Neri Castañeda Jaegwon Kim Irving Thalberg
David Charles Christine Korsgaard Judith Jarvis Thomson
August Cieszkowski Loet Leydesdorff David Velleman
Jonathan Dancy John McDowell Candace Vogler
Donald Davidson Alfred R. Mele Georg Henrik von Wright
William H. Dray Elijah Millgram R. Jay Wallace
Fred Dretske Ludwig von Mises Ludwig Wittgenstein
Ignacio Ellacuria Thomas Nagel Max Weber
John Martin Fischer Lucy O'Brien Xavier Zubiri
Harry Frankfurt Juan Antonio Pérez López
Carl Ginet Brian O'Shaughnessy
Alvin I. Goldman Joseph Raz
Jürgen Habermas Thomas Reid
Raymond Reiter

References

Further reading
Maurice Blondel (1893). L'Action - Essai d'une critique de la vie et d'une science de la pratique
G. E. M. Anscombe (1957). Intention, Basil Blackwell, Oxford.
James Sommerville (1968). Total Commitment, Blondel's L'Action, Corpus Books.
Donald Davidson (1980). Essays on Actions and Events, Clarendon Press, Oxford.
Jennifer Hornsby (1980). Actions, Routledge, London.
Lilian O'Brien (2014). Philosophy of Action. Palgrave.
Christine Korsgaard (2008). The Constitution of Agency, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
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.
Peter Šajda et al. (eds.) (2012). Affectivity, Agency and Intersubjectivity, L'Harmattan, Paris.
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
"Action". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
The Meaning of Action by Various Authors at PhilosophersAnswer.com (http://philosophersanswer.com
/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=20672:the-meaning-of-action-philosophers-answer&
catid=1:philosophers-answer&Itemid=2)
http://philosophyofaction.com/

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Categories: Action (philosophy) Free will Philosophy of science Philosophy of mind Social philosophy
Metaphysical theories Ontology

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