Action Theory (Philosophy)

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The philosophical theory of action (. English action theory ) deals with problems that arise in connection with the action - result - especially human action. The philosophical sub-discipline asks what actions are and how these can be adequately described and explained. The contemporary debates focus on three thematic fields: the nature of actions, descriptions of actions, and explanations of actions. In particular, theories of action deal with reasons for action and causes, with the relationship between events and actions, with intentions and intentional actions, with the logical form of action sentences, with so-called basic actions and with the search for a principle of order for human types of action. The relationship between the acting subject (English, agent ) and the situation is frequently in the foreground.

Overview of the basic problems of action theory

By the actor that he wishes (Engl. Is believed desires ) and intentions (Engl. Intentions ) casts and opinions (Engl. Beliefs ) about it have, how to bring about the desired changes in the outside world in the given situation.

Many theories of action are based on the causal theory of action . It is believed that every human act has a cause and an effect on the physical world. There is also the possibility that mental events - which have no physical external effect (for example solving a mathematical problem ) - can also be viewed as an action, since they can be tried successfully . Reflexes and passive movements (examples: sneezing, stumbling, being moved by someone else) are not considered actions. There is a debate about how aware we need to be about our actions and intentions to act in order for them to be considered intentional actions. For example, an alien hand syndrome is known in which a patient's hand carries out targeted, but unintentional, movement sequences that can be interpreted as an action by an outside observer.

A weak point of the causal theory of action is, for example, the "problem of deviant causal chains", in which the agent causes the result of his intention to act by chance (in a different way than intended). Deviant causal chains can be circumvented by considering actions as "intended under a description", that is, there can be different descriptions for the same action, one description of which contains the real intention of the agent.

History of Action Theory

Action theory issues - although action theory as a defined philosophical discipline is a creation of modernity - have been the subject of philosophical investigation since ancient times. The most important ancient author in this context can be Aristotle , who begins his Nicomachean Ethics with investigations into terms such as “action” and “goal”.

In this tradition, questions of action theory were often dealt with in the Middle Ages, including by Thomas von Aquin , Johannes Duns Scotus and Wilhelm von Ockham . These authors were always concerned with theological questions, so questions such as the determination of actions, for example in connection with the theodicy problem, were discussed.

From around 1950 onwards, the theory of action became more and more important as the philosophy of mind developed . Elisabeth Anscombe's monograph Intention and Donald Davidson's Essays on Actions and Events can be described as classics of contemporary debate . While Anscombe tries to conceptually separate reasons for action from causes based on Ludwig Wittgenstein's approach based on the philosophy of language , Davidson denies such a distinction. Robert Brandom expanded John Searle's approach to language analysis and speech act theory into an independent program in the 1990s, and Alvin I. Goldman developed social-epistemological theory of action. In addition, Georg Henrik von Wright , Hector-Neri Castaneda , Michael Bratman , J. David Velleman , Judith Jarvis Thomson , Jonathan Bennett, Jennifer Hornsby, John Hyman , María Álvarez and Michael counted in the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st century Thompson , each with a different focus on the central authors in action theory. Basic distinctions are among others:

Relevance of action theory

The sub-discipline of action theory is located at the interface between theoretical and practical philosophy. It is relevant both to the philosophy of mind and certain questions of metaphysics and to ethics .

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