Action, Freedom and Responsibility: A Conceptual Study

Contents: Foreword/P.K. Mohapatra. Preface. Introduction. 1. Nature and Concept of Action. 2. Agency. 3. Action and Free Will. 4. Action, Freedom and Responsibility. 5. Summary and Conclusion. Bibliography. Index. This book, a work on human doing, analyses and applies three central aspects of human life Action, Freedom and Responsibility in the wide spectrum of the Philosophy of Mind. Reflections on these issues and their interconnections have a significant effect on the Philosophy of Value and application of ethical theories in practical life. This book even reconstructs the conceptual connection between action and freedom, on the one hand, and that between freedom and responsibility, on the other. It also puts the concepts of freedom and determinism to critical test and reinterprets them from different angles and perspectives. The conventional doctrine of karma, based on the teachings of the Bhagavadgata, is relieved from its usual deterministic presentation and a logically reasonable explanation is offered. Human actions and human agency are central concepts in the philosophy of mind and action. Free will and responsibility constitute the bedrock of the moral life of the human agents and the book pinpoints that freedom is meant to undertake the goal-oriented actions. It is, therefore, focused on the enquiry into the various aspects of philosophy of mind, as well as the philosophy of value.…