I. Introduction: Briefly explain the topic, provide a “road map” to your paper,

I. Introduction: Briefly explain the topic, provide a “road map” to your paper, and clearly state the
claim(s) you will defend in part V. (Identify and state your thesis explicitly, in boldface!)
II. Explain Gary Watson’s 1975 theory of autonomous or self-governed action, according to which an
action is autonomous when and only when it is motivated by a desire grounded in the agent’s
evaluative system. Be sure to explain, and give examples to illustrate, the following concepts: (a) an
agent’s motivational system, (b) an agent’s evaluational system, (c) an evaluative judgment, (d) a
desire that is not grounded in the agent’s evaluational system, (e) a desire that is grounded in the
agent’s evaluational system, (f) an action motivated by a desire that is not grounded in the agent’s
evaluational system, (g) an action motivated by a desire that is grounded in the agent’s evaluational
system. And be sure to explain why this is thought to be a plausible account of what it means for an
action to be autonomous (or self-governed).
III. Using your own concrete example of someone being moved to action by a desire that is “external” or “alien”, give a brief, intuitive (i.e., non-theoretical) characterization of the distinction between an
internal and an external desire. Then give Watson’s account of what it means for a desire to be internal – in other words, explain internality in terms of concepts you explained in §II. (Terminological note:
A desire is internal when the agent identifies with it. So, to give an account of what makes a desire
internal is to explain what it means to identify with a desire.)
IV. Briefly explain the regress problem and explain why this problem is not supposed to arise for Watson’s account of what it means for a desire to be internal.
V. Using your own example of what Watson calls a “perverse” action, explain the objection Watson raises in 1987 against his own earlier account of internality (the account you spelled out in §III). Then assess the objection. Is there a compelling way for Watson to address this objection without substantially revising his view? Or should we conclude that Watson’s 1975 account of internality (and, therefore, his 1975 theory of autonomous action) is a failure? Give reasons to support your answer. Elaborate.
VI. Conclusion: Briefly sum up what you have done in your paper, including an explicit statement of the thesis you defended in part V and some remarks about why we should continue to think about this
topic