This book, a work on human doing, analyses and applies three central aspects of human life – Action, Freedom and Responsibility – in the wide spectrum of the Philosophy of Mind. Reflections on these issues and their interconnections have a significant effect on the Philosophy of Value and application of ethical theories in practical life. This book even reconstructs the conceptual connection between action and freedom, on the one hand, and that between freedom and responsibility, on the other. It also puts the concepts of freedom and determinism to critical test and reinterprets them from different angles and perspectives. The conventional doctrine of karma, based on the teachings of the Bhagavadgātā, is relieved from its usual deterministic presentation and a logically reasonable explanation is offered. Human actions and human agency are central concepts in the philosophy of mind and action. Free will and responsibility constitute the bedrock of the moral life of the human agents and the book pinpoints that freedom is meant to undertake the goal-oriented actions. It is, therefore, focused on the enquiry into the various aspects of philosophy of mind, as well as the philosophy of value. CONTENTS “Foreword — P.K. Mohapatra Preface Opinions Introduction 1. Nature and Concept of Action Introduction Action and Event Action and Non-action Refraining: An Act of Ommission Action as an Object of Moral Judgement The Means–End Controversy Free Will 2. Agency Introduction Formal Analysis Natural Agency Unnatural Agency (Agency in a Secondary Sense) Supernatural Agency Substantial Analysis Features of Personhood Reasons and Actions Significance of Intention The Doer, Deed and the Done Action and Free Will 3. Action and Free Will Introduction A Systematic Account of Personal Agency Ascription of Responsibility Determinism Libertarianism The Argument from Deliberation The Argument from Agent Causation The Argument from Moral Responsibility Compatibilism A Critique of Determinism and Libertarianism 4. Action, Freedom and Responsibility Introduction Agency and Desire The First-order Desire and First-order Action The Second-order Desire or the Level of Reflective Self-evaluation Motivational System and Evaluation System 5. Summary and Conclusion Bibliography Index”