The nature and difficulty of physical efforts

Bibliographic Data

ID10808395
AuthorsOlivier Massin (0000-0002-3949-4429, University of Neuchâtel, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume203
Issue6
Publication date2024-05-17
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSynthese (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0039-7857 • E-ISSN: 1573-0964
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/s11229-024-04572-5
OpenAlexW4397008749
LanguageEN
References cited46

We make physical efforts when we swim, carry shopping bags, push heavy doors, or cycle up hills. A growing concern among philosophers and scientists in related fields is the absence of a well-defined concept for physical efforts. This paper addresses this issue by presenting a force-based definition of physical efforts. In Sect. 1, we explore the shortcomings of existing definitions of effort. Section 2 introduces the force-based account of efforts according to which making an effort consists in exerting a force so as to make an object move or stay at rest. Section 3 introduces three central distinctions stemming from the account: failed vs. successful efforts; resisted vs. unresisted efforts; and efforts vs. effortful actions. Section 4 presents a key objection, to the effect that the force-based theory cannot account for the difficulty of efforts: efforts usually feel difficult, but effort’s difficulty is not always a function of the magnitude of force(s) exerted. Section 5 argues that the most in-depth account of difficulty so far, that developed by Bradford (2015), cannot account for the difficulty of efforts. Sections 6 & 7 develop a novel account of effort’s difficulty

Epistemology · Metaphysics · Philosophy of language · Philosophy of science · Action Observation and Synchronization · Computer Science · Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies · Philosophy · Tactile and Sensory Interactions

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