By Andrews Reath (NHC Fellow, 1991–92) Andrews Reath presents a selection of his best essays on various features of Kant's moral psychology and moral theory, with particular emphasis on his conception of rational agency and his conception of autonomy. Together the essays articulate Reath's original approach to Kant's views about human autonomy, which explains Kant's … Continued
By Richard Moran (NHC Fellow, 1994–95) Since Socrates, and through Descartes to the present day, the problems of self-knowledge have been central to philosophy’s understanding of itself. Today the idea of ”first-person authority” — the claim of a distinctive relation each person has toward his or her own mental life — has been challenged from a number of directions, … Continued
By Alfred R. Mele (NHC Fellow, 1992–93) Explores the related topics of self‐control and personal autonomy. Self‐control is understood as the contrary of akrasia or weakness of will, and autonomy is placed in the family of metaphysical freedom concepts: most notably, free will, free choice, and free action. The book's first half develops an analysis … Continued
By Holly M. Smith (NHC Fellow, 2013–14) Moral theories are called on to play both a theoretical and a practical role. In their theoretical role they provide accounts of what features make actions right or wrong. In their practical role, they provide a standard by which agents can guide their own conduct. Although it is … Continued
By Thomas Pfau (NHC Fellow, 2010–11) In this brilliant study, Thomas Pfau argues that the loss of foundational concepts in classical and medieval Aristotelian philosophy caused a fateful separation between reason and will in European thought. Pfau traces the evolution and eventual deterioration of key concepts of human agency—will, person, judgment, action—from antiquity through Scholasticism … Continued
By Randolph Clarke (NHC Fellow, 2012–13) Philosophical theories of agency have focused primarily on actions and activities. But, besides acting, we often omit to do or refrain from doing certain things. How is this aspect of our agency to be conceived? This book offers a comprehensive account of omitting and refraining, addressing issues ranging from … Continued
By Elizabeth Schechter (NHC Fellow, 2014–15) Could a single human being ever have multiple conscious minds? Some human beings do. The corpus callosum is a large pathway connecting the two hemispheres of the brain. In the second half of the twentieth century a number of people had this pathway cut through as a treatment for … Continued
By John M. Doris (NHC Fellow, 2008–09) The unconscious, according to contemporary psychology, determines much of our lives: very often, we don't know why we do what we do, or even exactly what we are doing. This realization undermines the philosophical-and common sense-picture of human beings as rational, responsible, agents whose behavior is ordered by … Continued
By Edwin D. Craun (NHC Fellow, 2002–03) Presented in three sections—Sins of the Tongue, Punishing Deviant Speech, and Deviant Speech and Gender—the essays included here give a clear picture of what we know about deviant speech in medieval culture, a picture that has begun to achieve the depth and richness of scholarship on slander in … Continued
By William L. Rowe (NHC Fellow, 1984–85) In this succinct and well-written book, one of our most eminent philosophers provides a fresh reading of the view of freedom and morality developed by Thomas Reid (1710-1796). Although contemporary theorists have written extensively about the Scottish philosopher's contributions to the theory of knowledge, this is the first … Continued