Motivation and Agency

What place does motivation have in the lives of intelligent agents? Mele's answer is sensitive to the concerns of philosophers of mind and moral philosophers and informed by empirical work. He offers a distinctive, comprehensive, attractive view of human agency. This book stands boldly at theintersection of philosophy of mind, moral philosophy, and metaphysics.

Introduction

3

(4)

Preview

4

(1)

A Perspective on Action

5

(2)

Flexibility: A Mark of Motivation

7

(6)

I Motivation and Action

Motivation and Desire

13

(25)

What Is Motivation? What Is the Question?

13

(2)

Motivation, Desire, and Action-Desire

15

(4)

Providing Motivation and Motivational Bases

19

(6)

Desire and Direction of Fit

25

(2)

Intention and Desire

27

(1)

Desire's Breadth

28

(2)

Occurrent versus Standing Desires

30

(3)

Intrinsic versus Extrinsic Desires

33

(1)

Summary of Some Technical Terms

34

(4)

Goal-Directed Action

38

(31)

Davidson's Challenge and Two Unsuccessful Replies

38

(7)

Two More Unsuccessful Replies

45

(6)

Causalism and Primary Deviance

51

(3)

A Myth About Simple Agents

54

(4)

Handling Primary Deviance

58

(11)

II Motivation and Normativity

Reasons for Action and Action for Reasons

69

(17)

Davidsonian Reasons for Action

70

(1)

Arational Actions

71

(5)

Scanlon on Reasons and the ``Standard Desire Model''

76

(3)

Motivational and Normative Reasons for Action

79

(2)

External and Broadly Davidsonian Reasons for Action

81

(5)

The Motivational Power of Practical Reasoning

86

(21)

Another Promethean Tale

86

(3)

The Antecedent Motivation Theory

89

(2)

Some Unsuccessful Arguments for the Antecedent Motivation Theory

91

(1)

Antecedent Motivation versus the Cognitive Engine

92

(9)

Implications of the Antecedent Motivation Theory?

101

(6)

Moral Motivation and Moral Ought-Beliefs: Internalism versus Externalism

107

(27)

Internalism

108

(2)

Present Concerns

110

(1)

Introducing Listlessness

111

(2)

Testing

113

(4)

Belief, Belief*, and SP-Belief

117

(4)

Listlessness Again

121

(2)

An Alleged Problem with Generic Moral Desires

123

(2)

Modest Cognitivist Internalism: Problems

125

(9)

Attitudes That Essentially Encompass Motivation to Act

134

(27)

A Preliminary Thesis

135

(3)

Action-Desires and a Hypothesis

138

(4)

The Hypothesis Tested

142

(4)

Further Testing: Negative Actions

146

(8)

A Refinement and a Worry About Circularity

154

(7)

III Strength and Control

Motivational Strength

161

(16)

Some Background

162

(2)

MSI and Vacuity

164

(2)

MSI and Associated Principles

166

(6)

Action-Desires and Ordinary Dispositions

172

(2)

MSI and Agency

174

(3)

Control and Self-Control

177

(20)

Background

177

(3)

Libet's Studies

180

(4)

Urges, Intentions, and Actions

184

(5)

Branching Out

189

(8)

IV Decision, Agency, and Belief

Deciding

197

(18)

Background: Four Views of Practical Decision

197

(5)

Intentions in Practical Deciding

202

(3)

Are Practical Decisions Inexplicable?

205

(4)

Practical Deciding

209

(6)

Human Agency par Excellence

215

(19)

Human Agents

216

(2)

Velleman's Objection to the ``Standard Story''

218

(1)

Human Action par Excellence and a Special Desire

219

(5)

Deciding and Reduction

224

(1)

Alienation and the Elusive Location of Human Agency par Excellence

225

(5)

Causalism, Real Selves, and Human Agents

230

(4)

Motivated Belief and Motivational Explanations

234

(13)

Motivationally Biased Belief and a Theory

234

(4)

Motivated Belief and Motivational Explanations

238

(4)

Reasons-Explanations and Motivational Explanations

242

(1)

Conclusion

243

(4)

References

247

(10)

Index

257

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Motivation and Agency

Summary

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials

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Motivation and Agency

Summary

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