Agents and Their Actions: 6 (Ratio Special Issues) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1444339087 ISBN 13: 9781444339086

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011

Synopsis

Reflecting a recent flourishing of creative thinking in the field, Agents and Their Actions presents seven newly commissioned essays by leading international philosophers that highlight the most recent debates in the philosophy of action

• Features seven internationally significant authors, including new work by two of philosophy's ‘super stars’, John McDowell and Joseph Raz
• Presents the first clear indication of how John McDowell is extending his path-breaking work on intentionality and perceptual experience towards an account of action and agency
• Covers all the major interconnections between action-agency and central areas of Philosophy: Metaphysics, Epistemology, History of Philosophy, Ethics, Logic, Philosophy of Language
• Provides a snapshot of current debate on the subject, which is fresh, enlightening, and fruitful

About this title

About the Author

Maximilian de Gaynesford is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Reading. A previous Fellow of Lincoln College Oxford, de Gaynesford is the author of I: The Meaning of the First Person Term (2006), Hilary Putnam (2006), John McDowell (2004), and a number of articles on the philosophy of mind and language, moral philosophy, and aesthetics.

From the Back Cover

While theories of action have intrigued philosophers since the time of Aristotle, the field is currently undergoing a surge in innovative philosophical thinking - an inventiveness that is bearing an unprecedented wealth of fresh insights into a topic that touches on almost every area of philosophy. Reflecting this recent flourishing of creativity, Agents and Their Actions presents seven newly commissioned essays by leading international philosophers that highlight the most cutting-edge debates in the philosophy of action. In one essay, philosopher John McDowell extends his path-breaking account of intentionality in Mind and World by exploring the implications for intention in action. In another, Joseph Raz develops his influential views about rational agency with an analysis of responsibility. John Hyman deepens his account of how knowledge works by examining its uses and roles in guiding action. Another essay features Robert Stern, who broadens his appeal to historical debate in elucidating current controversy by comparing Korsgaard with Kant on the nature of agency. Two further essays feature Laura Ekstrom, who explores relations between the self and agency, and Maria Alarez, who uses action to expose the basic elements of practical reasoning. The book's editor Maximilian de Gaynesford finishes the collection with an examination of the supposed reciprocal nature of agency in the theory of speech acts.

Timely and intellectually stimulating, Agents and Their Actions represents an intriguing snapshot of recent philosophical debates while introducing readers to the forceful, lively, and fruitful ideas currently whirling around the nature, variety, and identity of action.

Timely and intellectually stimulating, Agents and Their Actions represents an intriguing snapshot of recent philosophical debates while introducing readers to the forceful, lively, and fruitful ideas currently whirling around the nature, variety, and identity of action.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1444339087
• ISBN 13: 9781444339086
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 152
• Editor: De Gaynesford Maximilian