Manipulated agents : a window to moral responsibility / Alfred R. Mele.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mele, Alfred R., 1951- author.

Contributor:

Anne and Joseph Trachtman Memorial Book Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Responsibility.

Free will and determinism.

Act (Philosophy).

Agent (Philosophy).

Physical Description:

x, 174 pages ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2019]

Summary:

"Common sense tells us that all people who perform intentional actions are influenced by things they have done and things that have happened to them. If someone is a superb deliberator or remarkably courageous, we might like to know how he came to be that way, if only because that knowledge about his past might suggest measures we might take to make ourselves better deliberators or more courageous. To what extent does an agent's history help us figure out whether or not he is responsible for an action in question? What period of time do we need to look at to grasp all the factors that will influence the person in question's action or choice? In answering questions such as this in the literature on moral responsibility and free will, philosophers often make heavy use of thought experiments to make their points. These experiments feature manipulated agents -- agents who are clearly influenced by certain forces or conditions, and therefore not entirely free. What can we learn from vignettes of this kind about the nature of moral responsibility for actions? Mele seeks to answer this very consequential, if specific question in this book. Small though this question may seem, answering it can unlock a full-blown understanding of moral responsibility, as Mele shows here"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction

Internalism and externalism

Instant agents, minutelings, and radical reversals

Must compatibilists be internalists?

Bullet biting and beyond

Wrapping things up.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 165-169) and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Anne and Joseph Trachtman Memorial Book Fund.

Other Format:

Online version: Mele, Alfred R., 1951- author. Manipulated agents

ISBN:

9780190927967

0190927968

OCLC:

1052862823