Hancox, Joshua
(2015)
Thinking about Action.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
The promise of action theory (the study of intentional action) is that it might provide a new way into old disputes about the foundations of ethics, or the mind-body problem, or even first-order moral questions. The difficulty is accounting for the three quite different characteristics of intentional action: the characteristic way practical thought affects the world, the distinctive patterns and norms of means-end reasoning, and a special way of knowing about one's own actions. I explore the idea that we must first understand how agents think about action in order to understand these central features. In particular, I argue that practical thought – intentions and means-end beliefs – represents itself as the cause of its object. In addition to resolving action-theoretic debates, this account fulfills some of the promise of action theory, providing a rigorous foundation for a number of ethical and metaethical positions.
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Details
Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
Status: |
Unpublished |
Creators/Authors: |
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ETD Committee: |
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Date: |
19 June 2015 |
Date Type: |
Publication |
Defense Date: |
10 March 2015 |
Approval Date: |
19 June 2015 |
Submission Date: |
1 April 2015 |
Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
Number of Pages: |
126 |
Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
Schools and Programs: |
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Philosophy |
Degree: |
PhD - Doctor of Philosophy |
Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
Refereed: |
Yes |
Uncontrolled Keywords: |
Philosophy of Action |
Date Deposited: |
19 Jun 2015 15:20 |
Last Modified: |
15 Nov 2016 14:26 |
URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/24272 |
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