Causalism holds behavior and actions to be the result of previous

mental states A mental state, or a mental property, is a state of mind of a person. Mental states comprise a diverse class, including perception, pain experience, belief, desire, intention, emotion, and memory. There is controversy concerning the exact definiti ...

, such as beliefs, desires, or

intention Intentions are mental states in which the agent commits themselves to a course of action. Having the plan to visit the zoo tomorrow is an example of an intention. The action plan is the ''content'' of the intention while the commitment is the ''a ...

s, rather than from a present conscious will guiding one's actions. Causalism is in accord with how most people have traditionally explained their actions, but critics point out that certain habitual actions such as scratching an itch are only noticed during or after the fact, if at all, making the causalist explanation that such behaviors have a mental antecedent that isn’t recalled seem ad hoc.

References

* Frankfurt, Harry. 1988. "The Problem of Action", in ''The Importance of What We Care About.'' Cambridge: Cambridge UP. * Mele, Alfred. 1997. "Introduction", in ''Philosophy of Action''. Oxford: Oxford UP. Theory of mind {{philo-stub