Mistaken actions: Davidson’s enduring dilemma

Abstract

Abstract This essay is about a variety of action errors I call “Mistaken Actions” and a puzzle they pose for Causal Theories of Action. I begin with Davidson’s version of the Causal Theory and pose the puzzle as a dilemma: if his theory explains what makes a mistaken action mistaken, then it can’t explain what makes it intentional; and if his theory explains what makes a mistaken action intentional, then it can’t explain what makes it mistaken. I then propose three ways in which more recent Causal Guidance Theories may be able to resolve the dilemma but argue that none yield a definitive solution.