In his book 'Individuals' P. F. Strawson writes that 'both the Cartesian and the no-ownership theorists are profoundly wrong in holding, as each must, that there are two uses of 'I', in one of which it denotes something which it does not denote in the other' (p. 98). The author thinks, by contrast, that there is a defensible 'Cartesian materialist' sense, which Strawson need not reject, in which I (=df. the word 'I' or the concept I) can and does denote two different things, and which is nothing like the flawed Wittgensteinian distinction between the use of I 'as object' and the use of I 'as subject'. The author doesn't argue directly for the 'two uses' view, however. Instead he does some preparatory work. First he criticizes one bad (Wittgensteinian or 'Wittgensteinian') argument for the 'only one use of I' view. Then he offers a phenomenological description of our everyday experience of us that leads to an attack on 'corporism' - the excessive focus on the body in present-day analytic philosophy of mind.
Jedną z centralnych kwestii dotyczących problemu wolnej woli stanowi zagadnienie moralnej odpowiedzialności. Na ogół utrzymuje się, iż ma ono najdalej idące konsekwencje dla życia społecznego oraz prawa. Jak jednak argumentuje Galen Strawson, nie można odpowiadać moralnie za własne działania. Argument przebiega następująco: dana osoba podejmuje decyzję w oparciu o swój charakter, osobowość lub inne czynniki umysłowe. Z drugiej strony, za czynniki te nie można ponosić odpowiedzialności, wydaje się bowiem oczywiste, że są one powodowane innymi czynnikami, takimi jak wychowanie czy geny, za które nie jesteśmy odpowiedzialni. Jedynym wyjściem byłoby bycie causa sui, tj. bycie przyczyną samego siebie. Jednakże zgodnie z rozpowszechnioną opinią nic nie może być causa sui. W takim wypadku odpowiedzialność moralna jest niemożliwa.
EN
The problem of moral responsibility occupies a central place in the discussions concerning free will. It is generally held that it has far-reaching consequences for social life and law. However, as Galen Strawson argues, it is impossible to be morally responsible for one's own actions. The argument runs as follows: a person decides one way or another on the basis of his character, personality traits or other mental respects. However, one cannot be responsible for those features—it seems obvious that they are caused by factors one cannot be responsible for, such as one's upbringing or genes. Hence the only way to be morally responsible is to be causa sui, i.e. the cause of oneself. It is widely acknowledged though that nothing can be causa sui. It follows that moral responsibility is impossible.
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