Action Individuation: The Moral Valence of Consequences as Distinguishing Factors

(Hardback)

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The question what is action cannot be fully addressed until it is established whether two action descriptionswhether in law, business, insurance policies, or ordinary conversationrefer to the same or different actions. This book approaches the problem of action individuation by arguing for a variantist account, where the moral valence of the consequences of an action plays a foundational role in distinguishing between actions. Actions with bad consequences are associated with the originating act from which the action arises; actions with positive consequences are separate from their originating act. Drawing from an empirical assessment that tests non-philosophers intuitions about individuating actions, along with real-world examples, the author suggests that how we distinguish between actions has practical and philosophical import.

Author Bio

Joseph Ulatowski is senior lecturer in philosophy at University of Waikato, New Zealand