Natural agency : an essay on the causal theory of action

From a moral point of view we think of ourselves as capable of responsible actions. From a scientific point of view we think of ourselves as animals whose behaviour, however highly evolved, conforms to natural scientific laws. Natural Agency argues that these different perspectives can be reconciled, despite the scepticism of many philosophers who have argued that 'free will' is impossible under 'scientific determinism'. This scepticism is best overcome, according to the author, by defending a causal theory of action, that is by establishing that actions are constituted by behavourial events with the appropriate kind of mental causal history. He sets out a rich and subtle argument for such a theory and defends it against its critics. Thus the book demonstrates the importance of philosophical work in action theory for the central metaphysical task of understanding our place in nature.

著者

Bishop, John、 Dancy Jonathan、 Haldane John、 Harman Gilbert、 Jackson Frank、 Lycan William G.、 Shoemaker Sydney、 Sosa Ernest、 Thomson Judith Jarvis、Bishop John

出版社

Cambridge University Press

発売日

1989年1月発売

価格

価格未定（税込・書誌情報提供：openBD）

ISBN

9780521374309

発売済み