Timothy O'Connor is Professor and Department Chair of philosophy at Indiana University Bloomington, and a member of its Cognitive Sciences program. He has published extensively in metaphysics, philosophy of mind and action, and philosophy of religion. His books include Agents, Causes, and Events: Essays on Indeterminism and Free Will (ed. 1995), Persons and Causes: The Metaphysics of Free Will (2000), Philosophy of Mind: Contemporary Readings (ed. 2003), Theism and Ultimate Explanation: The Necessary Shape of Contingency (2008) and Downward Causation and the Necessity of Free Will (ed. 2010). Constantine Sandis is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at Oxford Brookes University and New York University in London. He is the editor of New Essays on the Explanation of Action (2009) and Hegel on Action (with Arto Laitinen, 2010), and author of The Things We Do and Why We Do Them (2010).

“I recommend this volume to all those with any interest in the concepts treated in the philosophy of action.”  (Philosophy in Review, 1 December 2012)"The collection is a critically important resource for scholars of the philosophy of action. The overall clarity of the entries, moreover, also makes it accessible as a resource for undergraduate and graduate students working in the area. Highly recommended. Upper-level undergraduates through faculty/researchers." (Choice, 1 March 2011) "O'Connor and Sandis have edited a wide-ranging, accessible collection that will be an invaluable resource for anyone interested in the philosophy of action. Highly recommended." (Metapsychology Online Reviews, 12 April 2011)

• List of Illustrations xNotes on Contributors xiAcknowledgments xxIntroduction xxiPart I Acts and Actions 11 Action Theory and Ontology 3E. J. Lowe2 Basic Actions and Individuation 10Constantine Sandis3 Trying to Act 18Jennifer Hornsby4 Bodily Movements 26Adrian Haddock5 The Causal Theory of Action 32Wayne A. Davis6 Adverbs of Action and Logical Form 40Kirk Ludwig7 Refraining, Omitting, and Negative Acts 50Kent Bach8 Speech Acts 58Mitchell S. Green9 Collective Action 67Margaret Gilbert10 Habitual Actions 74Bill Pollard11 Cambridge Actions 82David-Hillel Ruben12 Pluralism about Action 90Elijah MillgramPart II Agency and Causation 9713 Volition and the Will 99Laura W. Ekstrom14 Intention 108Alfred R. Mele15 Desire and Pleasure 114Timothy Schroeder16 Teleological Explanation 121Scott Sehon17 Reasons and Causes 129Timothy O’Connor18 Triggering and Structuring Causes 139Fred Dretske19 Motivating Reasons 145Stephen Everson20 Humeanism about Motivation 153Michael Smith21 Deviant Causal Chains 159Rowland Stout22 Action Explanation and the Unconscious 166Edward Harcourt23 Mental Causation and Epiphenomenalism 174John Heil24 The Explanatory Role of Consciousness 182Naomi Eilan25 What a Difference Emotions Make 191Sabine A. Döring26 Agency, Patiency, and Personhood 200Soran Reader27 Mental Acts 209Joëlle Proust28 Agent Causation 218Randolph Clarke29 Bodily Awareness and Bodily Action 227Hong Yu Wong30 Agents’ Knowledge 236Johannes Roessler31 Practical Reasoning 244Bart Streumer32 Deliberation and Decision 252Philip Pettit33 Motivational Strength 259Alfred R. Mele34 Addiction and Compulsion 267Neil Levy35 Akrasia and Irrationality 274Sergio TenenbaumPart III Action in Special Contexts 28336 Rationality 285John Broome37 Motivational Internalism and Externalism 293G. F. Schueler38 Free Will and Determinism 301Thomas Pink39 Responsibility and Autonomy 309John Martin Fischer40 Virtuous Action 317Rosalind Hursthouse41 The Doctrine of Double Effect 324David S. Oderberg42 Action and Criminal Responsibility 331R. A. Duff43 Intention in Law 338Gideon Yaffe44 Scientifi c Challenges to Free Will 345Eddy Nahmias45 Intentional Action in Folk Psychology 357Bertram F. Malle46 Attribution Theory 366Bernard Weiner47 Rational Agency in Evolutionary Perspective 374Kim Sterelny and Ben Jeffares48 Animal Agency 384Hans-Johann Glock49 Action in Cognitive Ethology 393Marc Bekoff50 Action in History and Social Science 401Daniel Little51 The Prediction of Action 410Nassim N. Taleb and Avital PilpelPart IV Prominent Figures 41752 Indian Philosophers 419Elisa Freschi53 Plato 429Christine J. Thomas54 Aristotle 439Ursula Coope55 Stoics, Epicureans, and Aristotelians 447T. H. Irwin56 Augustine and Aquinas 459Stephen Boulter57 Duns Scotus 466Thomas Williams58 Thomas Hobbes 473Thomas Pink59 Descartes 481Paul Hoffman60 Locke 490Matthew Stuart61 Berkeley 496Tom Stoneham62 Thomas Reid 505Maria Alvarez63 Hume 513Annette C. Baier64 Kant 521Eric Watkins65 Nietzsche 528Brian Leiter66 Hegel 537Michael Quante67 Weber 546Kieran Allen68 Wittgenstein 554Severin Schroeder69 Ryle 562Julia Tanney70 Sartre 570Katherine J. Morris71 Chisholm 578Michael J. Zimmerman72 Von Wright 589Frederick Stoutland73 Davidson 598Ralf Stoecker74 Anscombe 606Roger Teichmann75 Ricoeur 613Anna C. ZielinskaIndex 622