Thinker · TH-0130
Donald Davidson
Donald Davidson was an American philosopher who taught at Stanford, Princeton, Chicago and Berkeley, among other places. In 'Actions, Reasons, and Causes' he argued…
1917 – 2003 · Springfield, Massachusetts; Harvard; Stanford; Princeton; Berkeley
Traditions: Analytic
Donald Davidson was an American philosopher who taught at Stanford, Princeton, Chicago and Berkeley, among other places. In 'Actions, Reasons, and Causes' he argued that the reasons for which we act are also the causes of our actions, reviving the causal theory of action. He also developed anomalous monism about the mind and a truth-conditional theory of meaning built around radical interpretation and the principle of charity.
Key ideas
- A reason rationalises an action only if it also causes it.
- Mental events are physical events, but there are no strict psychophysical laws (anomalous monism).
- A theory of meaning for a language can take the form of a theory of truth.
- Interpreting others requires charity: assuming most of their beliefs are true.
Major works
- "Actions, Reasons, and Causes" (1963)
- "Mental Events" (1970)
- Essays on Actions and Events (1980)
- Inquiries into Truth and Interpretation (1984)
In the conversation
- Discussion Davidson said there are no untranslatable conceptual schemes. A working translator is not so sure
- Question What is the difference between my arm rising and my raising it? A capoeirista asks
- Debate Teleosemantics is the best naturalistic theory of content we have
- Debate The deviant causal chain shows the causal theory of action cannot be repaired
On the map
The questions in The Coordinates of Thought where Donald Davidson takes a place.
- 6.24 Philosophy of Action What is the difference between your arm rising and your raising it?