Actions, emotions and beliefs, part II

pp. 150-166

in: Anne J. Jacobson, Keeping the world in mind, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2013

Abstract

This chapter makes the case against the general applicability of a standard view of action explanation. On the standard view, Fodorian mental representations provide the propositional attitudes that are our reasons for acting. In such an account, there is often an implicit appeal to a Davidsonian conception (Davidson, 2001; Schlosser, 2011). Reasons for action consist of a belief and desire (in some very general sense of those words) that cause the action, where the belief and desire are of the form: I believe that if I do X then I will get Y; I want Y.