How We Act Together

This dissertation defends the higher-order interdependence theory of collective intention. I introduce three results from experimental research on judgments about acting together with others in the sense of collaboration or partnership, which give a description of the character of our collective actions. Building from the literature, I assume that collective action is explained by collective intention. I then show how current theories of collective intention have difficulties explaining these results and develop a theory that gives a better explanation. This theory of collective intention also contains a novel account of the source of interpersonal normativity in collective action. People who form a collective intention owe each other something and are accountable to one another because they choose to co-determine their action in an obligation-generating way