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What Is Action?

What Is Action?

Code	15562
Year	2
Semester	S1
ECTS Credits	6
Workload	OT(15H)/TP(45H)
Scientific area	Philosophy
Entry requirements	Not applicable
Learning outcomes	The question "What is action?" does not have to demand an immediate answer; on the contrary, it invites us to assume from the outset the inquiring bid in which the question is played. In this sense, this course aims to stimulate the practice of philosophical questioning, through a fundamental theme of philosophy. At the end of the UC, the student should be able to: (i) identify issues concerning the philosophy of action; (ii) make explicit the fundamental elements of the studied perspectives; (iii) discuss answers to the question "What is action?"; (iv) problematize the nature of action.
Syllabus	Syllabus topics: - Are reasons also causes? - The failure of causal theories of action and the criticism of the “Augustinian paradigm of language” - Moral Action in Kant: Duty and Autonomy in the Foundation of the Metaphysics of Morals - Action and determinism: the role of emotions - Intentionality as a mark of action - The moral value of action - From Action to Agent - Uncertainty, Self-Realization and Happiness - What does it mean to act in the heart of urgency? Technological temporalization and political temporalization - Action as textile - Action at the center of (a) philosophy - Routines and ruptures. Towards an economy of action
Main Bibliography	Anscombe, E., “Intention” in The Aristotelian Society. Blondel, M. (1946). Philosophie de l'action. Les Études philosophiques, Nouvelle Série, 1ère Année, No. 1, 1-12. Damásio, A. (2011). O Erro de Descartes. Temas e Debates. Davidson, D. (1963). "Actions, reasons and causes" in D. Davidson (1980), Essays on Actions and Events, Oxford: Claredon Press. Ingold, Tim, 2011. Estar Vivo (título original: Being Alive – Essays on Movement, Knowledge and Description), Vozes. Kant, I., Fundamentação da Metafísica dos Costumes. Edições 70. Lucrécio. “Livro III”. In Sobre a natureza das coisas (De Rerum Natura). Relógio D’Água. Reimão, C. (1995). A problemática da Acção na filosofia de Maurice Blondel. Didaskalia, 25(1-2), 453-468. Ricoeur, R. (1991). “Da Acção ao Agente”, in: O si-mesmo como um outro [orig.1990. Quarto Estudo], trad.port. L. M. Cesar (pp. 109-136). Papirus. Wittgenstein, L. (1989). Philosophical Investigations (Investigações Filosóficas). Blackwell.
Teaching Methodologies and Assessment Criteria	Methodologically, the curricular unit is taught under a plural approach to the basic philosophical question - What is action? -, for which a previously informed perspective is introduced by each participating teacher, with an indication of the pertinent bibliography. Each module presupposes the previous reading of the respective bibliographical reference, based on which a dynamic debate of the philosophical question is carried out. The assessment consists of active participation and relevant intervention in the work of the weekly sessions and preparation of a written test with oral presentation.
Language	Portuguese. Tutorial support is available in English.