Philosophy of Action

Code:

MFIL041

Acronym:

FA

Instance: 2014/2015 - 1S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Department of Philosophy
Course/CS Responsible:	Masters in Philosophy

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
MFIL	16	MFIL - Study Plan	1	-	10	58	270

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

The main objective of this course is to provide an overview of the issues in contemporary philosophy of action. Relations of philosophy of action with other disciplines of philosophy, such as moral philosophy, philosophy of mind, political philosophy and the philosophy of economics will also be explored. Throughout the course students  should become acquainted with classical and contemporary texts of the discipline, in particular those of Aristotle, Anscombe and Davidson.

Learning outcomes and competences

Students should be able to identify and debates issues in the philosophy of action, and also be able to explore relations between these issues and the major disciplines of philosophy.

Working method

Presencial

Program

I Introduction

Basic topics in the philosophy of action. The classics - Aristotle, Elizabeth Anscombe and Donald Davidson on the nature of action, intention, relation of reasons and causes, deliberation, decision. Practical reasoning. Relations between philsophy of action and other disciplines of philosophy.

II Selected topics

 1. Davidson, Frankfurt and Mele on the belief-desire model and the explanation of action. 'Persons' and actions.

2. McCann: volitions and anti-naturalism

3. Bratman - what makes practical reasoning special.

4. Anscombe: the importance of action and intention in the conception of the mental. Practical knowledge. Practical reasoning.

 

III. Three case studies of rationality and irrationality in action

1. Aristotle on akrasia.

2. Rawls on justice and rational choice

3. McDowell on the nature of moral judgements.

 

Mandatory literature

Anscombe, G.E. M; Intention, Cambridge MA, Harvard University Press, 1957
Aristóteles, 384-322 a.C; Éthique a Nicomaque
Charles, David; Aristotele.s philosophy of action. ISBN: 0-7156-1005-8
Davidson, Donald Herbert, 1917-2003; Essays on actions and events. ISBN: 0-19-824637-4
Mauro, C, Miguens, S & Cadilha, S; Conversations on Practical Rationality and HUman Action, Newcastle, Cambridge Scholars Press, 2012
McDowell, John; Mind, value, and reality. ISBN: 0-674-00713-1
Miguens, Sofia; Identidade pessoal e posição original Rawlsiana
Miguens, Sofia 340; Acção e ética. ISBN: 978-989-689-155-8
Rawls, John, 1921-2002; Uma^teoria da justiça. ISBN: 972-23-1715-6

Teaching methods and learning activities

Lectures.

keywords

Humanities > Philosophy > Systematic philosophy
Humanities > Philosophy > Philosophical anthropology
Humanities > Philosophy > Ethics

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation without final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Participação presencial	10,00
Trabalho escrito	90,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Estudo autónomo	100,00
Frequência das aulas	45,00
Trabalho de investigação	125,00
Total:	270,00

Calculation formula of final grade

Research paper; oral defense of the paper.