Kirk Ludwig

Collective Action II

From Plural to Institutional Agency

Ernest LePore

Ernest Lepore and Kirk Ludwig present the definitive critical exposition of the philosophical system of Donald Davidson (1917-2003). Davidson's ideas had a deep and broad influence in the central areas of philosophy; he presented them in brilliant essays over four decades, but never set out explicitly the overarching scheme in which they all have their place. Lepore's and Ludwig's book will therefore be the key work, besides Davidson's own, for understanding one of the greatest philosophers of the twentieth century.

Meaning, Truth, Language, and Reality

Donald Davidson

Kirk Ludwig develops a novel reductive account of plural discourse about collective action and shared intention. Part I develops the event analysis of action sentences, provides an account of the content of individual intentions, and on that basis an analysis of individual intentional action. Part II shows how to extend the account to collective action, intentional and unintentional, and shared intention, expressed in sentences with plural subjects. On the account developed, collective action is a matter of there being multiple agents of an event and it requires no group agents per se. Shared intention is a matter of agents in a group each intending that they bring about some end in accordance with a shared plan. Thus their participatory intentions (their we-intentions) differ from individual intentions not in their mode but in their content. Joint intentional action then is a matter of a group of individuals successfully executing a shared intention. The account does not reduce shared intention to aggregates of individual intentions. However, it argues that the content of we-intentions can be analyzed wholly in terms of concepts already at play in our understanding of individual intentional action. The account thus vindicates methodological individualism for plural agency. The account is contrasted with other major positions on shared intention and joint action, and defended against objections. This forms the foundation for a reductive account of the agency of mobs and institutions, expressed in grammatically singular action sentences about groups and their intentions, in a second volume.

Collective Action:

From Individual to Plural Agency

Ernest Lepore

A Companion to Donald Davidson presents newlycommissioned essays by leading figures within contemporaryphilosophy. Taken together, they provide a comprehensive overviewof Davidson’s work across its full range, and an assessmentof his many contributions to philosophy. Highlights the breadth of Davidson's work acrossphilosophy Demonstrates the continuing influence his work has on thephilosophical community Includes newly commissioned contributions from leading figuresin contemporary philosophy Provides an in-depth exposition and analysis of Davidson's workacross the range of areas to which he contributed, includingphilosophy of action, epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy oflanguage, and philosophy of mind

A Companion to Donald Davidson

Collective Action I

nest Lepore

Donald Davidson's Truth-Theoretic Semantics

Kirk Ludwig

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