Elisa Galgut, 'Acting on Phantasy, Acting on Desire'

In The Thread of Life, Wollheim makes a distinction between "acting on phantasy" and "acting on desire" - the former associated with the “archaic theory of mind", the latter conforming to our folk psychological way of explaining behaviour. In the book, Wollheim also points out how an action that is fuelled by phantasy can sometimes be described as though it were an ordinary action motivated by beliefs and desires. In this talk, I first clarify the distinction Wollheim makes between acting on phantasy and acting on desire. I then discuss how sometimes the latter can be misdescribed (as in the case of the Rat Man). Finally I suggest some ways in which examining the narrative of how an action is described can give us clues as to whether it's a true description of an action, or an inaccurate description of acting out.