Agency and Action

This collection of original essays by leading philosophers covers the entire range of the philosophy of action.

One of the most exciting developments in philosophy in the last fifty years is the resurgence in the philosophy of action. The concept of action now occupies a central place in ethics, metaphysics and jurisprudence. This collection of original essays, by some of the most astute and influential philosophers working in this area, covers the entire range of the philosophy of action. Topics covered include the nature of actions themselves; how the concepts of act, agent, cause and event are related to each other; self-knowledge, emotion, autonomy and freedom in human life; and the place of the concept of action in criminal law. The volume concludes with a major essay by one of America's leading authorities in the philosophy of law on 'the 3.5 billion dollar question': was the destruction of the World Trade Center one event or two?

Agency and actions Jennifer Hornsby; Two ways of explaining actions Jonathan Dancy; Anscombe on practical knowledge Richard Moran; Action, the act requirement and criminal liability Antony Duff; Emotion, cognition and action David Charles; Kantian autonomy Terence Irwin; The structure of orthonomy Michael Smith; Normativity and the will Jay Wallace; Can libertarians make promises? Alfred Mele; Intention as faith Rae Langton; The destruction of the World Trade Center and the law on event-identity Michael S. Moore.

The concept of action now occupies a central place in ethics, metaphysics and jurisprudence. This collection of original essays by leading philosophers covers the entire range of the philosophy of action, including the nature of actions themselves and the place of the concept of action in criminal law.