Agent Causality

Who, or what, is an agent? How does an agent do things, or refrain from doing them? In this attempt to understand the concept of agent causality, Vollmer proposes that persons are in control of their actions in virtue of reflective consciousness, consisting of a primary, intrinsic, non-observational awareness of one's own activity, and a capacity to form second-order thoughts about such activity. According to traditional action theory, only behaviour that an agent is aware of performing (under some description) counts as action. In Vollmer's view, however, reflective consciousness plays a more important role than just determining what someone is doing, or under what description the action is intentional. Reflective consciousness is what gives you control and renders you free. Reflective consciousness is what you are.