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1 - Action and the Will

from Part I - Dimensions of Moral Conduct

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 June 2023

Robert Audi
Affiliation:
University of Notre Dame, Indiana
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Summary

Actions are not merely what we do but essentially connected with intentionality, particularly beliefs and intentions, and thereby with the will. Some actions are basic; others we do by doing something basically – “at will.” Act-types are the kind of thing we can exemplify repeatedly or multiple agents can exemplify simultaneously, say speaking. Act-tokens are individual actions tied to a particular agent, time, and mode of performance. Ethics must address both: types as contents of intentions and primary indicators of obligations, and tokens as morally significant in ways that, like their underlying motives, are not fixed by their type. This chapter also clarifies control of action, direct and indirect. It is not just basic acts that are under direct voluntary control; most of the salient manners of our actions are. Moral obligation and moral responsibility for action extend to those as well as to the acts they color – or discolor.

Type
Chapter
Information
Of Moral Conduct
A Theory of Obligation, Reasons, and Value
, pp. 11 - 20
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • Action and the Will
  • Robert Audi, University of Notre Dame, Indiana
  • Book: Of Moral Conduct
  • Online publication: 08 June 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009266987.004
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  • Action and the Will
  • Robert Audi, University of Notre Dame, Indiana
  • Book: Of Moral Conduct
  • Online publication: 08 June 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009266987.004
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Action and the Will
  • Robert Audi, University of Notre Dame, Indiana
  • Book: Of Moral Conduct
  • Online publication: 08 June 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009266987.004
Available formats
×