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The paradox of the diffusiveness of power

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Abstract

Although the topic of basic act is controversial, theorists of agency normally agree that complex performances are based on comparatively simple ones. To the extent that we can attribute powers to agents over various tasks, it is also plausible to suppose that our powers over complex tasks are based on powers over the simple. Chisholm once formulated this idea in terms of the principle of the diffusiveness of power. In the present paper, however, we shall argue that the principle which articulates this intuitive idea is incompatible with the assumption that we can sometimes do otherwise.

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Acknowledgments

I would like to express my gratitude to Jean-Baptiste Rauzy, Fabien Mikol, Felipe Bravo, Mariko Kobayashi, Ryoko Konno, and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments. Thanks to Weiguang Zhang for his continued support. And special thanks to Wen Chen for all her inspirations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sciences, Normes, Décision (SND), Department of Philosophy, Paris-Sorbonne University, Paris, France

    Xiaoxing Zhang

  2. Ecole Normale Supérieure de Paris, Paris, France

    Xiaoxing Zhang

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  1. Xiaoxing Zhang
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Correspondence to Xiaoxing Zhang.

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Zhang, X. The paradox of the diffusiveness of power. Synthese 194, 2489–2500 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-016-1061-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-016-1061-9

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