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Why “Why?”? Action, Reasons and Language
Author(s) -
Teichmann Roger
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
philosophical investigations
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.172
H-Index - 14
eISSN - 1467-9205
pISSN - 0190-0536
DOI - 10.1111/phin.12065
Subject(s) - action (physics) , sort , epistemology , heuristic , language game , cognitive science , psychology , philosophy , computer science , physics , quantum mechanics , information retrieval
In Intention , Anscombe characterises intentional actions as “the actions to which a certain sense of the question ‘Why?’ is given application”. Some philosophers have seen A nscombe's reference to “Why?”, and to other workings of language, as heuristic devices only. I argue that, on the contrary, we should see the enquiry‐and‐response dialogue, and related dialogues, as essential foci of the sort of investigation A nscombe is undertaking, one which looks to a certain kind of language‐game and the human purpose or purposes which lie behind it. This approach can be fruitfully extended to other questions in the philosophy of action and of mind.