The Limits of Free Will

by Paul Russell

Overview

This volume contains a selection of papers concerning free will and moral responsibility. Among the topics covered, as they relate to these problems, are the challenge of skepticism; moral sentiment and moral capacity; necessity and the metaphysics of causation; practical reason; free will and art; fatalism and the limits of agency; and our metaphysical attitudes of optimism and pessimism.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780190627621
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	09/22/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Paul Russell is Professor in Philosophy at the University of British Columbia and the University of Gothenburg. His publications include Freedom and Moral Sentiment: Hume's Way of Naturalizing Responsibility (Oxford University Press, 1995); The Riddle of Hume's Treatise: Skepticism, Naturalism, and Irreligion (Oxford University Press, 2008); and editor of The Philosophy of Free Will (Oxford University, 2013).

Table of Contents

Introduction Table of Contents Acknowledgements I. Free Will and Causal Relations 1. Sorabji and the Dilemma of Determinism [With an Addendum, 2016] 2. Causation, Compulsion and Compatibilism II. Responsibility, Skepticism and Moral Sentiment 3. Strawson's Way of Naturalizing Responsibility 4. Responsibility and the Condition of Moral Sense 5. Moral Sense and the Foundations of Responsibility 6. Responsibility, Naturalism and 'the Morality System III. Practical Reason, Art and Manipulation 7. Practical Reason and Motivational Skepticism 8. Free Will, Art and Morality 9. Selective Hard Compatibilism: Manipulation and Moral Standing IV. Pessimism and the Limits of Free Will 10. Compatibilist-Fatalism: Finitude, Pessimism and the Limits of Free Will 11. Pessimists, Pollyannas and the New Compatibilism 12. Free Will Pessimism List of related publications Index

Editorial Reviews

"The free will debate is notoriously deadlocked, and Russell's work thoughtfully opens up new areas of philosophical exploration. But more importantly, Russell's philosophical facing-up to our limits as natural beings embodies intellectual humility and humanity in equal measure. As a young scholar, I am especially grateful to have encountered his work." — Robert Wallace, Ethical Theory and Moral Practice

"What stands out especially about this collection is the way in which Russell marries matters of fate and luck with our conception of ourselves as agents more broadly beyond the moral realm ... The merits of this collection go well beyond being a valuable compendium of critical assessment of contemporary optimism and skepticism about moral responsibility. Russell harnesses decades of reflection on moral responsibility to construct a distinctive yet measured compatibilist alternative, one that acknowledges the limits of human control while upholding the dignity of our moral life." — Robyn Repko Waller, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

"These are all uniformly excellent papers, beautifully written and offering a unique and important perspective on the topics of free will and moral responsibility." Michael McKenna, University of Arizona

"Paul Russell's subtle, incisive, and deeply human essays have had enormous influence on work in agency and responsibility for going on three decades. One cannot understand the state of play in many of the wide range of topics in the field without grappling with Russell's sharp critical insights and deftly drawn positions." David Shoemaker, Tulane University

"This is the Golden Age of free will philosophy. Paul Russell is a very significant participant in this, and moreover a philosopher with a distinct and rare voice. This volume will be very welcome in this respect, rightly positioning him as a central figure in the contemporary free will debate." Saul Smilansky, University of Haifa

From the Publisher