Causing Human Actions: New Perspectives on the Causal Theory of Action (A Bradford Book)

Leading figures working in the philosophy of action debate foundational issues relating to the causal theory of action. The causal theory of action (CTA) is widely recognized in the literature of the philosophy of action as the "standard story" of human action and agency―the nearest approximation in the field to a theoretical orthodoxy. This volume brings together leading figures working in action theory today to discuss issues relating to the CTA and its applications, which range from experimental philosophy to moral psychology. Some of the contributors defend the theory while others criticize it; some draw from historical sources while others focus on recent developments; some rely on the tools of analytic philosophy while others cite the latest empirical research on human action. All agree, however, on the centrality of the CTA in the philosophy of action. The contributors first consider metaphysical issues, then reasons-explanations of action, and, finally, new directions for thinking about the CTA. They discuss such topics as the tenability of some alternatives to the CTA; basic causal deviance; the etiology of action; teleologism and anticausalism; and the compatibility of the CTA with theories of embodied cognition. Two contributors engage in an exchange of views on intentional omissions that stretches over four essays, directly responding to each other in their follow-up essays. As the action-oriented perspective becomes more influential in philosophy of mind and philosophy of cognitive science, this volume offers a long-needed debate over foundational issues. Contributors Fred Adams, Jesús H. Aguilar, John Bishop, Andrei A. Buckareff, Randolph Clarke, Jennifer Hornsby, Alicia Juarrero, Alfred R. Mele, Michael S. Moore, Thomas Nadelhoffer, Josef Perner, Johannes Roessler, David-Hillel Ruben, Carolina Sartorio, Michael Smith, Rowland Stout Cover 1 Contents 6 Preface 8 1 The Causal Theory of Action: Origins and Issues 10 2 Renewed Questions about the Causal Theory of Action 36 3 The Standard Story of Action: An Exchange (1) 54 4 The Standard Story of Action: An Exchange (2) 66 5 Skepticism about Natural Agency and the Causal Theory of Action 78 6 Agential Systems, Causal Deviance, and Reliability 94 7 What Are You Causing in Acting? 110 8 Omissions and Causalism 124 9 Intentional Omissions 144 10 Comments on Clarke’s “Intentional Omissions” 166 11 Reply to Sartorio 170 12 Causal and Deliberative Strength of Reasons for Action 176 13 Teleological Explanations of Actions 192 14 Teleology and Causal Understanding in Children’s Theory of Mind 208 15 Action Theory Meets Embodied Cognition 238 16 Intentions as Complex Dynamical Attractors 262 17 The Causal Theory of Action and the Still Puzzling Knobe Effect 286 References 306 Contributors 332 Index 334 "The causal theory of action (CTA) is widely recognized in the literature of the philosophy of action as the "standard story" of human action and agency - the nearest approximation in the field to a theoretical orthodoxy. This volume brings together leading figures working in action theory today to discuss issues relating to the CTA and its applications, which range from experimental philosophy to moral psychology. Some of the contributors defend the theory while others criticize it; some draw from historical sources while others focus on recent developments; some rely on the tools of analytic philosophy while others cite the latest empirical research on human action. All agree, however, on the centrality of the CTA in the philosophy of action