Consciousness happens before, during and after action. I’ll argue that for a complete and correct
understanding of action, one needs to know precisely what role consciousness plays across these
different temporal parameters. This is especially true in regard to the question of whether con-
sciousness is epiphenomenal – something that accompanies action but plays no causal role in
action. I’ll argue that insofar as consciousness is characterized by intentionality, it should not be
regarded as epiphenomenal.1 Consciousness before Action
We can start by thinking of one delineated action, although in many cases it is difficult to
individuate actions; actions are often embedded in larger projects; and any one action may be
composed of several more basic actions. There are debates, for example, about the nature of
“basic” actions, i.e., actions that are not composed of (or caused by) other actions (Danto 1963;
Goldman 1970; Hornsby 2013). A reaching or a grasping might be considered a basic action.
When we add these actions together, we may get a more complex action of, e.g., picking up a
cup; and that may be part of a more complex action that we would define as clearing up the
dining table. Let’s take a medium sized complex action as our example – something more than
a basic action (e.g., reaching for something), but something less than a large complicated process
(e.g., getting married). We can settle for a rather boring non-adventurous example – preparing
a cup of tea.
It may be that every morning after I wake up, one action among various others that I per-
form is making myself a cup of tea. In my case, this is not something automatic, even in the
general sense that it is a habitual event. I confess that I usually find myself checking email before
I get to the event in question. In such cases, what often happens is that I am sitting at my com-
puter immersed in the action of checking email. I am not unconscious at this point. I may in
fact be conscious of a particular email content that I need to respond to; and I may be carefully
deciding how to construct my response. As I engage in this process, I may also start to realize
how much time this is taking, and then become aware of the fact that I have not yet had my tea.
This may motivate a decision either to keep at it, or to get up and prepare some tea.
Two points about this seem important. First, before my action of preparing a cup of tea, I am
engaged in a complex conscious life. If I seemingly wake up to the fact that I have not yet made22
CONSCIOUSNESS AND ACTION
Shaun Gallagher
Shaun Gallagher Consciousness and Action