William James’ Ideomotor Theory of Action Cover Image

Ideomotoryczna teoria działania w ujęciu Williama Jamesa
William James’ Ideomotor Theory of Action

Author(s): Adriana Schetz
Subject(s): Philosophy, Pragmatism
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: William James; the ideomotor theory of action;voluntary and involuntary action;action;sensorimotor effects;enactivism;James-Lange theory; Edmund Rolls; Piotr Gutowski; Antonio Damasio; Shaun Gallagher

Summary/Abstract: The paper discusses the view of William James on the contribution of will to our decisions to act. According to James, our voluntary action, which for him is strongly connected with an intention to do something, occurs when the subject of the action knows its sensorimotor effects. An attempt has been made to defend James’ view and rebut popular criticisms aiming to undermine the role of knowledge in voluntary action. The paper also offers to identify a contemporary context for the ideomotor theory of action. It is argued that such a context is provided by the enactive theory of perception.

  • Issue Year: 2015
  • Issue No: 43
  • Page Range: 137-157
  • Page Count: 21
  • Language: Polish