Philosophy 187

In this course we will explore a variety of philosophical accounts of the basic causes of human action from antiquity to the present. Some of the questions that we will consider are: What roles do rational and non-rational mental states play in generating action? Is weakness of will possible? What is a will anyway, and do we have one? What psychological factors might explain moral or altruistic behaviors? To what extent is human behavior explained by natural desires and by conditioning respectively? Are any of our actions caused or influenced by unconscious mental states? Readings will include selections from Plato, Aristotle, St. Augustine, David Hume, Immanuel Kant, Sigmund Freud, G. E. M. Anscombe, and Tamar Gendler.