WGAP: Harry Alanen (Oxford)

Monday, April 10, 2017 - 4:00pm
Date and Time: Monday, April 10th, 6-8pm

Location: LC 206 (pending confirmation)

Title: “Aristotle on Desire as the Cause of Bodily Movement”
 

Abstract: Aristotle holds that desire is the cause of the animal moving its body with respect to place, and that desire is the cause of action. For certain contemporary philosophers working on action, these claims will seem familiar. This talk examines some aspects of Aristotle’s views on desire (orexis) as developed in De Anima III.7, his claims in De Anima III.10 that desire is the cause of the animal moving its body with respect to place, and contrast some features of his approach with contemporary approaches to the explanation of action. Despite certain similarities, Aristotle is not a proponent of the so-called “standard story of action”.
 
Pizza will be served!