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Agency
Dr. Kevin R. Busch
Monday & Wednesday  Â·  5:30pm–6:45pm  Â·  HC–106

Human beings do not just behave or undergo events: we act. Along the way, we deliberate, pursue ends, make choices, and sometimes hold ourselves and others responsible for what happens. Even today, however, there remain fundamental questions about the nature of action, freedom, autonomy, and responsibility.

How do intentions, reasons, and practical reasoning figure in action? What makes an agent free, and what would it be for an agent to govern itself? Can freedom or autonomy be reconciled with determinism? And under what conditions can agents be held morally responsible for what they do? This course examines competing answers from classical philosophers such as Aristotle and Kant, alongside work by contemporary figures including Anscombe, Davidson, Frankfurt, Korsgaard, and Fischer. We will finish by applying our reflections to artificial intelligence, asking whether increasingly sophisticated AI systems can genuinely act, exercise autonomy, or bear moral responsibility.