Preface

Summary

As a prospective undergraduate, I had wanted to apply for Oxford's now defunct Psychology, Philosophy, and Physiology (PPP) degree, but lacking the maths A Level required for the statistics component, I came to St Anne's College to read Philosophy and Theology instead (apparently no maths is required to contemplate the infinite). In late 1996, I began my final year somewhat disillusioned with the direction that contemporary analytic philosophy had taken, never mind analytic theology. My wonderful tutor, Alison Denham, sent me to Peter Hacker at St John's College for the Philosophy of Mind paper, with the words ‘he won't be as forgiving as me if you write a poor essay’. Peter's weekly tutorials introduced me to the philosophy of Wittgenstein, as well as that of G. E. M. Anscombe, Norman Malcolm, Gilbert Ryle, P. F. Strawson, G. H. von Wright, Alan R. White and many other greats of that bygone era.

At the end of the eight-week term, Peter generously asked whether instead of parting ways, I should like to return for four additional tutorials in the philosophy of action to supplement the topics we had covered in the philosophy of mind. Intrigued by the sound of a subject that seemed to resemble PPP in its interests and scope, I accepted and returned the following term to discuss such things as the nature of action, intention, reasons and causes, voluntariness, and the will. So not only did he introduce me to Wittgenstein, Peter also introduced me to the philosophy of action. For better or worse, he is the reason I did not give up philosophy.

The philosophy of action was to largely preoccupy me during my graduate studies at the University of Reading and subsequent decade lecturing at Oxford Brookes University. While Wittgenstein's later philosophy has deeply influenced me, I did not explicitly engage with his work during this period. By the time I left Brookes for the University of Hertfordshire, I had become interested in the fact that there is much more to understanding a person than knowing the reasons for which they acted. My philosophical interests accordingly shifted from classic issues in action explanation to the philosophy of understanding, particularly as it applies to sentient beings.