Ordinary ability and free action

Canadian Journal of Philosophy 17 (June):307-335 (1987)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

We can understand much, perhaps most, of our thinking and speaking about persons’ powers, capabilities, capacities, skills, and competences to act as employing a particular concept of ability. This concept is so pervasive in discourse about these matters that it is appropriately called the ordinary notion of ability. However, the pervasiveness of this concept does not mean that we clearly comprehend its content or readily distinguish it from the many other senses of ability with which we can be concerned.The ordinary notion of ability is properly distinguished by two features. First, one's performing an action intentionally at a certain time is sufficient for one's having the ordinary ability at that time to perform that action. The ordinary ability to do something is an ability to do it intentionally.

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 90,221

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

Abilities, modalities, and free will.Bruce Aune - 1963 - Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 23 (March):397-413.
A libertarian-friendly theory of compatibilist free action.A. A. Howsepian - 2004 - Southern Journal of Philosophy 42 (4):453-480.
Free action and free will.Gary Watson - 1987 - Mind 96 (April):154-72.
Anscombe on Freedom, Animals, and the Ability to Do Otherwise.Denis F. Sullivan - 2007 - Proceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association 81:231-240.
Free agency.Gary Watson - 1975 - Journal of Philosophy 72 (April):205-20.

Analytics

Added to PP
2009-01-28

Downloads
44 (#316,161)

6 months
1 (#1,027,696)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

Paul Benson
University of Dayton

Citations of this work

Add more citations

References found in this work

No references found.

Add more references