2026/2027
Свобода воли, намерение и ответственность: введение в философию действия
ID 1248975
Статус:
Маго-лего
Кто читает:
Кафедра философии
Где читается:
Санкт-Петербургская школа гуманитарных наук и искусств
Когда читается:
2, 3 модуль
Охват аудитории:
для всех кампусов НИУ ВШЭ
Преподаватели:
Фауль Богдан Владимирович
Язык:
английский
Кредиты:
6
Контактные часы:
32
Course Syllabus
Abstract
The course Free Will, Intention, and Responsibility: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Action is designed to examine the central concepts and debates of the philosophy of action. Students will study major theories of intentional action, free will, moral responsibility, and practical reasoning, as well as analyze the relationship between agency, choice, and accountability. The course will also address philosophical questions concerning the meaning of life and the nature of love insofar as they are connected with human agency, commitment, deliberation, and responsible action.
Learning Objectives
- The aim of the course is to introduce students to the main concepts, theories, and problems in contemporary philosophy of action. The course focuses on the nature and explanation of human action, agency, intention, freedom, and moral responsibility, and aims to develop students’ ability to analyse human behaviour using philosophical theories of action and agency.
Expected Learning Outcomes
- Students will be able to distinguish actions from other kinds of events and behaviour, identify intentions, reasons, desires, and beliefs involved in action, compare major theories of intentional action, and analyse philosophical arguments about the explanation of action.
- Students will be able to distinguish the main positions in the free will debate, explain central arguments for compatibilism, incompatibilism, and scepticism, analyse the relationship between free will, different types of control, and moral responsibility, and evaluate arguments concerning the conditions under which agents are responsible for their actions.
- Students will be able to distinguish different accounts of self-governance and identification, analyse cases of internal conflict, weakness of will, and alienation, compare different accounts of what makes an action genuinely one’s own, and apply theories of agency to concrete cases of human action and decision-making.
Course Contents
- Action and Agency
- Free Will and Moral Responsibility
- Self-Governance and Identification
Assessment Elements
- Seminar Activity
- ProjectsStudents work in groups and choose a case of human action from a film, literary work, historical episode, or real-life situation. The task is to formulate one clear question about the case, explain one concept or theory discussed in the course, and use it to analyse the chosen action. The presentation should not merely summarize the case or the theory: students should show how the conceptual framework helps us understand what is happening in the case and support a clear conclusion. Possible questions include: Was the action free? Was the action intentional? Was the agent acting for a reason? Is this a case of weakness of will? Does the action express what the agent really wants? Is the agent alienated from their own action? To what extent is the agent morally responsible? Does the action reflect the agent's values, commitments, or plans?
Bibliography
Recommended Core Bibliography
- Intention, Anscombe, G.E.M., 2000
- The Routledge handbook of collective intentionality, , 2018
Recommended Additional Bibliography
- The collected philosophical papers of G.E.M. Anscombe. Vol.2: Metaphysics and the philosophy of mind, Anscombe, G.E.M., 1981
- The philosophy of Elizabeth Anscombe, Teichmann, R., 2011