Description
Book SynopsisWhat happens when someone acts? We suppose that we are often morally responsible for what we do, that our creations merit credit, and the unfolding of our relationships with others find their ultimate source within us -- in the choices we have freely made. But how is such freedom of choice possible? What are the springs of free will?In this carefully-argued and provocative study, O''Connor systematically develops an account of human agency intended to shed light on these basic questions. Central to his account is the traditional concept of ''agent'' of ''personal'' causation, a concept that has been largely abandoned in contemporary discussions of free will. O''Connor critically assesses the previous account of this notion by Thomas Reid, Richard Taylor, and Roderick Chisholm, before reformulating it in relation to more general discussions of contemporary causation. He then provides an original account of how reasons can explain actions whose causes are their agents. He concludes by ar
Trade ReviewThe book is intelligent throughout. O'Connor is unafraid to defend an unfashionable view, and to do so in a bold and imaginative way. * John Martin Fischer, MIND *
Table of ContentsIntroduction ; 1. Freedom and Determinism ; 2. Freedom and Indeterminism: Some Unsatisfactory Proposals ; 3. The Agent as Cause: Reid, Taylor, and Chisholm ; 4. The Metaphysics of Free Will ; 5. Reasons and Causes ; 6. Agency, Mind, and Reductionism ; Bibliography ; Index
