Theories of Action and an Introduction to the Causal Theory of Action
Theories of Action and an Introduction to the Causal Theory of Action
This chapter introduces the idea of a particular sort of philosophical naturalism — folk naturalism — and explains what this doctrine says about action. It describes its commitment to a reconstructive analysis of action in folk terms, but ones thought to be acceptable to the naturalist. It proposes three theories of action, pointing out a crucial assumption that all three share, and then focuses on the theory favoured by folk naturalism, the causal theory of action. The chapter explains some of its main ideas and, in particular, focuses on the requirement of rationalization that is part of the causal theory's requirements for action.
Keywords: philosophy of action, folk naturalism, causal theory of action, rationalization
Oxford Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us .
