Olivier Massin

Olivier Massin, Université de Neuchâtel
29. Januar 2020   16:45 – 18:45 Uhr   2i   NIG

Poster WKAP-Vortrag Olivier Massin

Striving

Abstract: We make efforts to lift heavy weights, to solve problems, to concentrate, to stop smoking, to climb mountains, to convince others, to stay calm, to understand obscure texts, to conceal one’s vices, to resist temptations, to gather information, to earn money, to overcome one’s shyness, to win games, etc. Effort is a central concept not only of our ordinary psychology and ethics, but also of many sciences (psychology, economics, sociology, law…). Yet the general nature of efforts remains elusive. In this talk I shall (i) introduce a force-based analysis of effort; (ii) argue that it fares better than chief alternative accounts (e.g. in terms of resources consumption), (iii) try to address the worries that it fails to account for non-physical efforts and for the difficulty of efforts.