Combining Texts

Ideas for 'Sweet Dreams', 'On the Happy Life' and 'Shame and Necessity'

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3 ideas

16. Persons / E. Rejecting the Self / 4. Denial of the Self
The work done by the 'homunculus in the theatre' must be spread amongst non-conscious agencies [Dennett]
     Full Idea: All the work done by the imagined homunculus in the Cartesian Theater must be distributed among various lesser agencies in the brain, none of which is conscious.
     From: Daniel C. Dennett (Sweet Dreams [2005], Ch.3)
     A reaction: Dennett's account crucially depends on consciousness being much more fragmentary than most philosophers claim it to be. It is actually full of joints, which can come apart. He may be right.
16. Persons / F. Free Will / 5. Against Free Will
It is an absurd Kantian idea that at the limit rationality and freedom coincide [Williams,B]
     Full Idea: There is a deluded Kantian idea that at the limit rationality and freedom will totally coincide.
     From: Bernard Williams (Shame and Necessity [1993], VI - p.158)
There is only a problem of free will if you think the notion of 'voluntary' can be metaphysically deepened [Williams,B]
     Full Idea: There is a problem of free will only for those who think that the notion of voluntary can be metaphysically deepened.
     From: Bernard Williams (Shame and Necessity [1993], III - p.68)
     A reaction: Years later, I now see that his refers to a pet hate of mine in discussions of free will, which is the idea that a person can have something called 'ultimate' responsibility for an action (which is the 'deep' version of 'you did it').