Understanding human agency

University Press Scholarship Online

Oxford Scholarship Online

Understanding Human Agency

Erasmus Mayr

Print publication date: 2011

Print ISBN-13: 9780199606214
Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: January 2012
DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199606214.001.0001

Understanding human agency

Erasmus Mayr

DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199606214.003.0012

A different non-causal account of acting for a reason is

developed which explains this notion in terms of following a
standard of success. Following a standard of success includes
a teleological structure of the agent's behaviour, as well as
connection to ‘success or failure feelings’ and use of
correlated premisses in practical deliberation. The notion of
‘following a standard of success’ is compared to Wittgenstein's
notion of rule-following and is shown not to implicity rely on
an event-causal link between the agent's motivating desire and
the action. To conclude the overall investigation, the offered
account of acting for a reason is related to the agent-causal
account developed in the preceding chapters, and it is shown
how the resulting theory provides a satisfactory answer to the
problem of human agency.

Keywords: reasons, following a standard of success, teleological structure,

practical deliberation, Wittgenstein, rule-following

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PRINTED FROM OXFORD SCHOLARSHIP ONLINE (www.oxfordscholarship.com). (c) Copyright Oxford University Press, 2015. All
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University of Pittsburgh; date: 06 May 2016