more from Donald Davidson

Single Idea 19698

[catalogued under 20. Action / C. Motives for Action / 3. Acting on Reason / c. Reasons as causes]

Full Idea

A 'deviant causal chain' is when an agent has a reason for performing an action, and for the reason to cause the performance, without that being the reason for which the agent performed it.

Gist of Idea

Deviant causal chain: a reason causes an action, but isn't the reason for which it was performed

Source

report of Donald Davidson (Freedom to Act [1973]) by Ram Neta - The Basing Relation II

Book Reference

'Routledge Companion to Epistemology', ed/tr. Bernecker,S/Pritchard,D [Routledge 2014], p.112


A Reaction

Davidson's thesis is that 'reasons are causes'. This was a problem he faced. I think this discussion is now obscured by the complex and multi-layered account of action which is emerging from neuroscience.