Theories of Action and Morality: Perspectives from Philosophy and Social Theory

This conference addresses the question of whether human action is intrinsically moral, and hence as well the question of whether and how a conception of the nature of action ought to be relevant for a theory of what is good or right to do. This issue comes up in contemporary discussions in many different forms: whether practical rationality can be understood in instrumental terms, whether instrumental rationality is normative, whether all intentional action is done under “the guise of the good,” etc. The aim of the conference is to address this question from a variety of perspectives, both  historical (Aristotelian, Humean, Kantian and Hegelian approaches) and contemporary (Davidson, Anscombe, etc.). Also of interest for our subject are perspectives on action in the social sciences, which standardly approach action is instrumental (“rational choice”) and yet also theorize the social dimensions of human agency, like Hegel or even Aristotle. The conference aims to make a contribution to the study of human action, overcoming the abstractions and shortcomings that stem from a lack of dialogue between different traditions and academic disciplines.

Conference program

Monday, September 10

9.00 Opening remarks

9.15-11.00 Session 1
Sebastian Rödl (Basel), “External and internal purposiveness in acting intentionally”.
Discussant: José M. Torralba (Navarra)

11.00-11.15 Coffee break

11.15-13.00 Session 2
Ana Marta González (Navarra) “The recovery of action in social theory. Acting out of sentiment, acting out of character, acting out of interest, acting out of will”.
Discussant: Stephan Zimmermann (Bonn)

13.15 Lunch

15.30-17.00 Session 3
Evgenia Mylonaki (Athens), “Knowledge of what one ought to do and knowledge of one’s own intentional actions”
Discussant: Patricio Fernández (Harvard)

17.00-17.15 Coffee break

17.15-19.00 Session 4
Jesús Zamora (UNED, Madrid), "Human rationality and the fact-value distinction. An inferentialist approach"
Discussant: Will Small (CSMN, Oslo)

Tuesday, September 11

9.15-11.00 Session 5
John Levi Martin (Chicago), “The Imagination, The Ought, and the Critique of Neo-Kantianism”
Discussant: David Zapero Maier (Paris-Sorbonne)

11.00-11.15 Coffee break

11.15-13.00 Session 6
Dieter Schönecker (Siegen), “Kant's moral intuitionism. The fact of reason and moral predispositions”
Discussant: Luis Placencia (Halle)

13.15 Lunch

15.30-17.00 Session 7
Sophie Djigo (Amiens), “Leverage and Truth”
Discussant: Daniel Doyle (Navarra)

17.00-17.15 Coffee break

17.15-19.00 Session 8
Terry Pinkard (Georgetown), “Two contrasting conceptions of agency and why we need both”
Discussant: Mark Alznauer (Northwestern)

20.00 Dinner