Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: The system‐property or ‘cybernetic’ theory of goals and goal‐directedness became popular in the twentieth century. It is a theory that has reductionist and behaviourist roots. There are reasons to think that the system‐property theory needs to be formulated in terms of counterfactuals. However, it proves to be difficult to formulate a counterfactual analysis of goal‐directedness that is counterexample‐free, non‐circular, and non‐trivial. These difficulties closely mirror those facing reductionists about dispositions, though the parallels between the two debates have been overlooked in the literature. After outlining those parallels, the paper considers what goal theorists might learn from the dispositions debate. In particular, the paper discusses the need for a realist, non‐reductionist account of goal‐directedness, and explores the idea that properties of goal‐directedness are themselves dispositions or ‘powers’ of a certain sort.
Source: Ratio
DOI: 10.1111/rati.12417
Author: Matthew Tugby
Institution: Durham University
Language: English
Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,760
OpenAlex ID: W4400610896