Negative Actions
eBook - PDF

Negative Actions

Events, Absences, and the Metaphysics of Agency

  1. English
  2. PDF
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

Negative Actions

Events, Absences, and the Metaphysics of Agency

About this book

Negative actions, like intentional omissions or refrainments, seem to be genuine actions. The standard metaphysical theories of action are event-based: they treat actions as events of a special kind. However, it seems that many (and perhaps all) negative actions are not events, but absences thereof. This is the first book-length treatment of the problem of negative action. It surveys the recent literature, and shows how the problem is rooted in interconnected issues in metaphysics, the philosophy of action, and the philosophy of language. In particular, it connects competing views of the ontology of negative actions to competing views of the semantics of 'negative action sentences', and develops unique ontological and semantic theories to solve the problem. It provides a comprehensive picture of the nature of negative actions, our thought and talk about them, and their place in a theory of action.

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Yes, you can access Negative Actions by Jonathan D. Payton in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Philosophy & Epistemology in Philosophy. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Half-title
  3. Title page
  4. Copyright information
  5. Contents
  6. Acknowledgements
  7. Introduction
  8. Chapter 1 Action and Ontology
  9. Chapter 2 The Problem of Negative Action
  10. Chapter 3 Mere Manifestations of Agency?
  11. Chapter 4 The Logical Form of Negative Action Sentences I: The Case for Deflationism
  12. Chapter 5 The Logical Form of Negative Action Sentences II: A Neo-Davidsonian Approach
  13. Chapter 6 The Logical Form of Negative Action Sentences III: The Approach Defended
  14. Chapter 7 Realizer-Functionalism and the Metaphysics of Events
  15. Chapter 8 Objections
  16. Conclusion
  17. References
  18. Index