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Full Idea
If we think the power of reason is not enough by itself to distinguish good and bad, then we would hope that people have limited autonomy, that there is an internalised other in them that carries some social weight.
Gist of Idea
If reason cannot lead people to good, we must hope they have an internal voice
Source
Bernard Williams (Shame and Necessity [1993], IV - p.100)
Book Ref
Williams,Bernard: 'Shame and Necessity' [California 1994], p.100
4317 | We judge weakness of will by an assessment after the event is concluded [Williams,B, by Cottingham] |
2169 | Greek moral progress came when 'virtue' was freed from social status [Williams,B] |
2172 | The modern idea of duty is unknown in archaic Greece [Williams,B] |
2174 | Responsibility involves cause, intention, state of mind, and response after the event [Williams,B] |
2175 | There is a problem of evil only if you expect the world to be good [Williams,B] |
2176 | There is only a problem of free will if you think the notion of 'voluntary' can be metaphysically deepened [Williams,B] |
2180 | If reason cannot lead people to good, we must hope they have an internal voice [Williams,B] |
2178 | In bad actions, guilt points towards victims, and shame to the agent [Williams,B] |
2179 | If the moral self is seen as characterless, then other people have a very limited role in our moral lives [Williams,B] |
2181 | It is an absurd Kantian idea that at the limit rationality and freedom coincide [Williams,B] |