Carter, J. A. and Shepherd, J. (2023) Intentional action and knowledge-centred theories of control. Philosophical Studies, 180(3), pp. 957-977. (doi: 10.1007/s11098-022-01904-4)
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Abstract
Intentional action is, in some sense, non-accidental, and one common way action theorists have attempted to explain this is with reference to control. The idea, in short, is that intentional action implicates control, and control precludes accidentality. But in virtue of what, exactly, would exercising control over an action suffice to make it non-accidental in whatever sense is required for the action to be intentional? One interesting and prima facie plausible idea that we wish to explore in this paper is that control is non-accidental in virtue of requiring knowledge—either knowledge-that or knowledge-how (e.g., Beddor and Pavese 2021; cf., Setiya 2008; 2012 and Habgood-Coote 2018). We review in detail some key recent work defending such knowledge-centric theories of control, and we show that none of these accounts holds water. We conclude with some discussion about how control opposes the sort of luck intentional action excludes without doing so by requiring knowledge (that- or how).
| Item Type: | Articles |
|---|---|
| Additional Information: | Carter’s research is supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council’s Expanding Autonomy (AH/W005077/1) and Digital Knowledge (AH/W008424/1) projects and the Leverhulme Trust’s A Virtue Epistemology of Trust project (RPG-2019- 302). Shepherd’s research is supported by European Research Council Starting Grant 757698 (for project ReConAg), awarded under the Horizon 2020 Programme for Research and Innovation, as well as the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research’s Azrieli Global Scholar programme on Mind, Brain, and Consciousness. |
| Status: | Published |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Carter, Professor J Adam |
| Authors: | Carter, J. A., and Shepherd, J. |
| Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General) |
| College/School: | College of Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities > Philosophy |
| Journal Name: | Philosophical Studies |
| Publisher: | Springer |
| ISSN: | 0031-8116 |
| ISSN (Online): | 1573-0883 |
| Published Online: | 20 January 2023 |
| Copyright Holders: | Copyright © 2023 The Authors |
| First Published: | First published in Philosophical Studies 180(3): 957-977 |
| Publisher Policy: | Reproduced under a Creative Commons License |
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