Philosophy 290-1

We’ll ask what action is, and we’ll ask how explanations of action that cite contentful states of mind — especially, belief, desire, knowledge, and intention — work. We’ll especially discuss: (i) the idea that knowledge is in some sense explanatorily more fundamental than belief (“knowledge first”-ism); (ii) the formal structure of intention, with an eye towards its apparent question-sensitivity; (iii) the group-level concept of public information, and the question what a group’s public information has to do with its capacity for coordinated action. Readings just might come from philosophers like: Davidson, Dennett, Dretske, Fodor, Greco, Lederman, Lewis, Setiya, Skow, Stalnaker, and Yablo.