Dynamics in Action

Intentional Behavior as a Complex System

Alicia Juarrero

$100

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Bradford Books
25 January 2002

Philosophy: logic; Behavioural theory (Behaviourism); Cognitivism, cognitive theory

Series: A Bradford Book

What is the difference between a wink and a blink? The answer is important not only to philosophers of mind, for significant moral and legal consequences rest on the distinction between voluntary and involuntary behavior. However, ""action theory""-the branch of philosophy that has traditionally articulated the boundaries between action and non-action, and between voluntary and involuntary behavior-has been unable to account for the difference.

Alicia Juarrero argues that a mistaken, 350-year-old model of cause and explanation-one that takes all causes to be of the push-pull, efficient cause sort, and all explanation to be prooflike-underlies contemporary theories of action. Juarrero then proposes a new framework for conceptualizing causes based on complex adaptive systems. Thinking of causes as dynamical constraints makes bottom-up and top-down causal relations, including those involving intentional causes, suddenly tractable. A different logic for explaining actions-as historical narrative, not inference-follows if one adopts this novel approach to long-standing questions of action and responsibility.

By: Alicia Juarrero
Imprint: Bradford Books
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 13mm
Weight: 417g
ISBN: 9780262600477
ISBN 10: 0262600471
Series: A Bradford Book
Pages: 300
Publication Date: 25 January 2002
Recommended Age: From 18
Audience: Adult education , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Tertiary & Higher Education , A / AS level
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Alicia Juarrero is Professor of Philosophy at Prince George's Community College, Maryland. She is a member of the National Council on the Humanities, the governing board of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Reviews for Dynamics in Action: Intentional Behavior as a Complex System

Juarrero's lively text skillfully applies the kinds of causal analyses required in non-equilibrium, complex systems theory to the problems of action theory. Stanley N. Salthe, Biological Sciences, Binghamton University