Consciousness in action

A phenomenology of action is outlined, analyzing the structure of volition, kinesthesis, and perception in the experience of action, and, finally, the experience of embodiment in action. The intentionality of action is contrasted with that of thought and perception in regard to the role of the body, and the relations between an action, the experience of acting, and the context of the action are specified.An early version of this essay was read at the XVIIIth World Congress of Philosophy in Brighton, England, on 25 August 1988. I thank discussants on that occasion, including co-symposiasts Robert Gordon, Helen Lauer, and Jonathon Suzman; I thank Steve DeWitt, Ronald McIntyre, Martin Schwab, Peter Simons, and Peter Woodruff for discussions since; and I thank an anonymous referee for many detailed comments on the penultimate draft. The present edition is much longer than, and quite different from, what was read at Brighton.