Difference between revisions of "Action (philosophy)" - New World Encyclopedia

Revision as of 20:29, 5 June 2006

Philosophy of action is chiefly concerned with human action, intending to distinguish between activity and passivity, voluntary, intentional, culpable and involuntary actions, and related questions. Though these issues have been discussed in nearly every era of philosophy, the topic of action began to receive special attention in the 1960's, and is becoming one of the major sub-disciplines in contemporary philosophy. This article is primarily concerned with the more recent developments.

Action in the History of Philosophy

Since action has ties to central human concerns such as responsibility and autonomy, it has been discussed in nearly every philosophical tradition. Furthermore, most metaphysical, epistemological and ethical views carry implications for our understanding of action (and vice-versa). A survey of philosophical discussions of action would therefore amount to a survey of nearly all of philosophy. A brief note must therefore suffice.

Action has been of concern to Western philosophers at least since Aristotle, who wrote about the subject in his Nicomachean Ethics. It is the theme of the Hindu epic Bhagavad Gita, in which the Sanskrit word karma epitomizes personal action. It has nearly always been bound up with Ethics, the study of what actions one ought to perform.

Many branches of Buddhism reject the notion of agency in varying degrees. In these schools of thought there is action, but no agent. Taoism has famously championed "inaction" as an ideal.

Action vs. Mere Behavior

In §621 of the Philosophical Investigations, Wittgenstein posed a question: "What is left over if I subtract the fact that my arm goes up from the fact that I raise my arm?"

The Metaphysics of Action

Causalism vs. Non-causalism

The Individuation of Actions

Action an Determinism

The Epistemology of Action

In her short but extremely influential work Intention, G. E. M. Anscombe claimed that we have knowledge of our own actions "without observation."

Philosophers concerned with action

G. E. M. Anscombe
Michael Bratman
John Broome
August Cieszkowski
Donald Davidson
Harry Frankfurt
David Hume
Aristotle

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Action, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/action/
Mele, Alfred (ed.): The Philosophy of Action, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1997

External links

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

History of "Action (philosophy)"

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{merge|action (philosophy)}}
 {{Contracted}}
-'''[[Philosophy]] of action''' is chiefly concerned with human action, intending to distinguish between activity and passivity, voluntary, intentional, culpable and involuntary actions, and related questions.  Though these issues have been discussed in nearly every era of philosophy, the topic of action began to receive special attention in the 1960's, and is becoming one of the major sub-disciplines in contemporary philosophy.
+'''[[Philosophy]] of action''' is chiefly concerned with human action, intending to distinguish between activity and passivity, voluntary, intentional, culpable and involuntary actions, and related questions.  Though these issues have been discussed in nearly every era of philosophy, the topic of action began to receive special attention in the 1960's, and is becoming one of the major sub-disciplines in contemporary philosophy.  This article is primarily concerned with the more recent developments.
+==Action in the History of Philosophy==
-== Central Questions in Philosophy of Action ==
+Since action has ties to central human concerns such as responsibility and autonomy, it has been discussed in nearly every philosophical tradition.  Furthermore, most metaphysical, epistemological and ethical views carry implications for our understanding of action (and vice-versa).  A survey of philosophical discussions of action would therefore amount to a survey of nearly all of philosophy.  A brief note must therefore suffice.
-{{Sectstub}}
-=== The Nature of Actions ===
+Action has been of concern to [[Western world|Western]] philosophers at least since [[Aristotle]], who wrote about the subject in his [[Nicomachean Ethics]].  It is the theme of the [[Hindu]] epic [[Bhagavad Gita]], in which the [[Sanskrit]] word [[karma]] epitomizes personal action. It has nearly always been bound up with [[Ethics]], the study of what actions one ''ought'' to perform.
-Philosophers of action investigate the nature and composition of actions.
-* Is an action the same as some bodily movement? Does one movement under different descriptions constitute different actions?
+Many branches of [[Buddhism]] reject the notion of agency in varying degrees. In these schools of thought there is action, but no [[agent]]. [[Taoism]] has famously championed "inaction" as an ideal.
-* 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 [[event]]? Does one event under different descriptions constitute different actions?
-=== Intent and Action ===
-Agents (that is to say, the beings who act), often act from intent.  One question for philosophers of action is what intentions are, and how, precisely, they relate to 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 (philosopher)|Donald Davidson]])?
+==Action vs. Mere Behavior==
+In §621 of the ''Philosophical Investigations'', Wittgenstein posed a question: "What is left over if I subtract the fact that my arm goes up from the fact that I raise my arm?"
+==The Metaphysics of Action==
+===Causalism vs. Non-causalism===
+===The Individuation of Actions===
+===Action an Determinism===
+==The Epistemology of Action==
+In her short but extremely influential work ''Intention'', G. E. M. Anscombe claimed that we have knowledge of our own actions "without observation."
 == Philosophers concerned with action ==
@@ Line 28: / Line 37: @@
 * [[Harry Frankfurt]]
 * [[David Hume]]
+* [[Aristotle]]
-== Quotes ==
-*[[Ludwig Wittgenstein]]: "What is left over if I subtract the fact that my arm goes up from the fact that I raise my arm?"
-== See also ==
-* [[Determinism]]
-* [[Praxeology]]
-{{Philo-stub}}
 == References ==
@@ Line 51: / Line 52: @@
-An '''action''', as [[philosophy|philosophers]] use the term, is a certain kind of thing a person can ''do''.  Throwing a baseball, which involves intention and coordinated bodily movement is an action.  Catching a cold is not usually considered an action, because it is something which happens ''to'' a person, not something done by them.  Other events are less clearly defined as actions or not.  [[Decision|Deciding]] to do something might be considered an action by some, yet by others it is not an action if the decision is not carried out.  Unsuccessfully [[try]]ing to do something might also not be considered an action, since the intention was not completed. [[Belief|Believing]], [[Intention|intending]], and [[Thought|thinking]] might also be considered actions, yet because they refer to purely internal states, such a classification is not universally agreed upon.  Some would prefer to define actions as involving [[Body|bodily]] movement (see [[behaviorism]]). Even mere existence might be classified as an action by some.  The [[effect]]s of actions might be considered actions, in certain situations.  For example, poisoning a well is an action.  If the poisoned water resulted in a death, that death might be considered an action on the person who poisoned a well, whether classified as a single act or two acts.  The classification of actions can become even less clear when the effect of the action is contrary to the intention, such as accidentally curing a person of an unknown disease while intending to kill them by poisoning the well.
-A primary concern of [[philosophy of action]] is to demarcate actions from other similar phenomena. Other concerns include individuating actions from one another, explaining the relation between actions and their effects, and saying how an action is related the beliefs and desires which give rise to it, and the intentions with which it is performed (a subject called [[practical reason]]): Actions may or may not be considered to be caused by the reason for action (see [[determinism]]).  If the reasons do not cause the actions, then they must explain action in some other sense. Actions are not usually considered to be done by inanimate objects, like the sun, which shines, but without intention.  On the other hand, a human may still be considered to be acting without a specific intention.
-Action has been of concern to [[Western world|Western]] philosophers since [[Aristotle]], who wrote about the subject in his [[Nicomachean Ethics]].  It is the theme of the [[Hindu]] epic [[Bhagavad Gita]], in which the [[Sanskrit]] word [[karma]] epitomizes personal action. It has nearly always been bound up with [[Ethics]], the study of what actions one ''ought'' to perform.  Some of the most prominent comtemporary philosophers who have worked in it are [[Ludwig Wittgenstein]], [[Elizabeth Anscombe]], [[Donald Davidson (philosopher)|Donald Davidson]], and [[Jennifer Hornsby]].
-Many branches of [[Buddhism]] reject the notion of agency in varying degrees. In these schools of thought there is action, but no [[agent]]. [[Taoism]] has famously championed "inaction" as an ideal.
 == See also ==