On the basis of close readings of classical and more recent text, the module aims to develop a sensibility to some of the standard distinctions in Western thought about how free action is motivated. Because of the controversial nature of many of the notions under study and the linguistic and cultural differences among the authors of the texts that are at the centre of the investigation, a main objective is an awareness of how the concepts of intentionality, deliberation, rationality, decision and agency may be interconnected
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The prevailing mode of teaching is that of the lecture. Students are nevertheless encouraged to intervene with seminar presentations, which may be taken into account in assessment.
Given that a university exam mark is valid only if it is certified by the student’s signature on the register in the presence of at least one member of the examining commission of the course in question, and holding fast the student’s right to refuse a mark by not signing the register, a variety of ways of generating a mark is on offer.
The standard mode is that of the oral interrogation. Typically, this lasts 10-15 minutes and begins with the student’s choice of subject among the topics covered in lessons. The teacher reserves the right to ask questions also about matters on which the student is not forthcoming.
If a student is ready to accept a mark generated by one of the other modalities, the interrogation may be reduced to the minimum.
As indicated under “Teaching activities”, students who present personal elaborations in class may gain credits up to the 6 reserved for the module.
A further proposal is a term paper, which is to say a typed report of two to four thousand words based on autonomous reading and reflection concerning a question relevant to the course. At the end of the collection of texts to be studied, there are suggestions of possible topics with relevant bibliography and outlines of how to present the term paper. In any case, and especially for students who do not follow lessons, the teacher warmly recommends agreeing the topic to be discussed.
The module is structured around a dialogue between some key Aristotelian texts regarding the notion of action and contributions in the “analytic” tradition that take up analogous themes more or less explicitly in their wake. Starting from Aristotle’s model of how to explain motivation in terms of beliefs and desires, we look at the various forms that the so-called “practical syllogism” can take in light of the distinction between causes and reasons for action. This theme then branches in two main directions. One raises the more general question of the conditions for free action and the notion of agent causality. The other centres on the many ways, including akrasia (“weakness of the will”), in which agents can find themselves frustrated in carrying out their own ideals.
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