Traditionally, the central threat to the defensibility of the range of practices and attitudes constitutive of moral criticism has been seen to be posed by the Causal Thesis, the view that all actions have antecedent causes to which they are linked by causal laws of the kind that govern other events in the universe. In such a world, agents lack the sort of underived origination and agency required for the appropriateness of moral criticism. However, Peter Strawson’s “Freedom and Resentment” marks a move away from a metaphysical conception of agency and conditions of the appropriateness of moral criticism. On Strawson’s account, the problem of moral responsibility is centrally a normative problem, a problem about the moral norms that govern interpersonal relationships, and the conditions of appropriateness of the range of attitudes and sentiments occasioned by the agents’ fulfillment or non-fulfillment of these norms. In this dissertation I argue that the success of normative conceptions of conditions of appropriateness of moral criticism is contingent of the amelioration of the tension between two strategies in “Freedom and Resentment.” Naturalist interpretations hold that sentiments and practices constitutive of moral criticism are natural features of human psychological constitution, and therefore neither allow nor require justification. Rationalist interpretation, by contrast, are based on an analysis of conditions under which moral criticism can be justifiably modified or suspended. Both of these strategies, I argue, are false. The naturalistic interpretation is false not because of its inability to offer a plausible account of the conditions of justifiability of reactive attitudes, but rather because of its inability to offer a principled account of the way moral norms are grounded. The rationalistic interpretation, in turn, not only relies on an implausible psychological account of conditions of responsible agency, but puts an unacceptable emphasis on the agent’s intention. A plausible interpretation of the normative strategy requires emphasizing not only the significance of attitudes and feelings, but also the role reasons play in constituting moral norms and justifying moral criticism / Thesis (Ph.D, Philosophy) -- Queen's University, 2010-07-05 16:42:43.601

Philosophers who show interest in authenticity tend to narrowly focus on its capacity to help people evade conformity and affirm individuality, a simplistic reduction that neglects authenticity’s moral potential and gives credence to the many critics who dismiss it as a euphemism for excessive individualism. Yet when conceived ethically, authenticity can also allow for worthy human flourishing without falling prey to conformity’s opposite extreme—egoism. This thesis proposes a relational conception of authenticity that can help prevent the often destructive excess of egoism while also offsetting the undesirable deficiency of heteronomy, concertedly moving agents towards socially responsible living. It demonstrates how authenticity necessarily has ethical dimensions when rooted in existentialist and dialogical frameworks. It also defines egoism as a form of self-deception rooted in flawed logic that cannot be considered “authentic” by relational standards. Relational authenticity recognizes the interpersonal relationships and social engagements that imbue meaning into agents’ lives, fostering a balance between personal ambitions and social obligations, and enabling more consistently moral lifestyles.

Esta dissertação constitui-se de três ensaios. O primeiro trata da impossibilidade de existência do livre arbítrio dentro e fora da Teoria Econômica Utilitarista. O segundo aborda a questão da inconsistência temporal (i.e. quando a ação empreendida presentemente pelo agente não é coerente com a decisão tomada anteriormente por ele) sem que para tanto se recorra às noções de autocontrole e força de vontade. O terceiro trata da possibilidade de responsabilidade moral na ausência de livre arbítrio e autocontrole/ força de vontade. / This dissertation contains three essays. The first one regards the impossibility of free will in and out of Economic Theory. The second one discusses the question of temporal inconsistency (i.e. when the agent’s present action isn’t coherent with his prior decision) without recur to the notions of self-control and willpower. The third one is concerned with the possibility of moral responsibility in absence of freewill and self-control/ willpower.

abstract: This dissertation engages with the philosophical, psychological, and scientific literature on two important topics: empathy and human enhancement. My two broad goals are to clarify the role of empathy in ascriptions of responsibility and to consider how enhanced empathy might alter those ascriptions. First, I argue that empathy is best thought of as a two-component process. The first component is what I call the rational component of empathy (RCE). RCE is necessary for moral responsibility as it allows us to put ourselves in another's shoes and to realize that we would want help (or not to be harmed) if we were in the other's place. The second component is what I call the emotive component of empathy (ECE). ECE is usually an automatic response to witnessing others in distress. Expanding on Michael Slote's view that moral distinctions track degrees of empathy, I argue that it is ECE that varies in strength depending on our relationship to specific people. Second, I argue that in order to achieve Peter Singer's goal an "expanding circle" of care for all human beings, it will be necessary to use some form of artificial empathy enhancement. Within this context, I try to show that empathy enhancement is 1) a reasonably foreseeable possibility within the next decade or so, and 2) morally defensible. Third, I argue that philosophers who argue that psychopaths are not morally responsible for their actions are mistaken. As I see it, these philosophers have erred in treating empathy as a singular concept and concluding that because psychopaths lack empathy they cannot be held morally responsible for their actions. The distinction between RCE and ECE allows us to say that psychopaths lack one component of empathy, ECE, but are still responsible for their actions because they clearly have a functional RCE. Fourth, I paint a portrait of the landscape of responsibility with respect to the enhanced empath. I argue that the enhanced empath would be subject to an expanded sphere of special obligations such that acts that were previously supererogatory become, prima facie, morally obligatory. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Philosophy 2016

Esta dissertação constitui-se de três ensaios. O primeiro trata da impossibilidade de existência do livre arbítrio dentro e fora da Teoria Econômica Utilitarista. O segundo aborda a questão da inconsistência temporal (i.e. quando a ação empreendida presentemente pelo agente não é coerente com a decisão tomada anteriormente por ele) sem que para tanto se recorra às noções de autocontrole e força de vontade. O terceiro trata da possibilidade de responsabilidade moral na ausência de livre arbítrio e autocontrole/ força de vontade. / This dissertation contains three essays. The first one regards the impossibility of free will in and out of Economic Theory. The second one discusses the question of temporal inconsistency (i.e. when the agent’s present action isn’t coherent with his prior decision) without recur to the notions of self-control and willpower. The third one is concerned with the possibility of moral responsibility in absence of freewill and self-control/ willpower.

Esta dissertação constitui-se de três ensaios. O primeiro trata da impossibilidade de existência do livre arbítrio dentro e fora da Teoria Econômica Utilitarista. O segundo aborda a questão da inconsistência temporal (i.e. quando a ação empreendida presentemente pelo agente não é coerente com a decisão tomada anteriormente por ele) sem que para tanto se recorra às noções de autocontrole e força de vontade. O terceiro trata da possibilidade de responsabilidade moral na ausência de livre arbítrio e autocontrole/ força de vontade. / This dissertation contains three essays. The first one regards the impossibility of free will in and out of Economic Theory. The second one discusses the question of temporal inconsistency (i.e. when the agent’s present action isn’t coherent with his prior decision) without recur to the notions of self-control and willpower. The third one is concerned with the possibility of moral responsibility in absence of freewill and self-control/ willpower.

For centuries, criminal and deviant behaviors have always been considered as a mystery because they do not represent the social norm. Why do some people hurt others or themselves? What guides the decision to perform good or bad actions? What is the role played by individual differences in such choices? Criminal behavior is not an unitary phenomenon and many approaches can be proposed to understand it. In the present thesis, I focused on the subjective experience that accompanies our actions commonly known as the sense of agency. The sense of agency can be defined as the experience of being the author of an action and its consequences. Therefore, understanding how the subjective experience of being responsible for an outcome influences our actions is a key issue for the notion of criminal responsibility. Throughout each chapter of the present thesis, I aimed at systematically explore how disturbances in the intention-action-outcome chain impact the sense of agency, by using behavioral and electrophysiological methods. I hope the methods and findings presented in this thesis will provide new routes to explore the human mind and particularly the sense of agency in the context of moral responsibility. / Doctorat en Sciences psychologiques et de l'éducation / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Philosophers who show interest in authenticity tend to narrowly focus on its capacity to help people evade conformity and affirm individuality, a simplistic reduction that neglects authenticity’s moral potential and gives credence to the many critics who dismiss it as a euphemism for excessive individualism. Yet when conceived ethically, authenticity can also allow for worthy human flourishing without falling prey to conformity’s opposite extreme—egoism. This thesis proposes a relational conception of authenticity that can help prevent the often destructive excess of egoism while also offsetting the undesirable deficiency of heteronomy, concertedly moving agents towards socially responsible living. It demonstrates how authenticity necessarily has ethical dimensions when rooted in existentialist and dialogical frameworks. It also defines egoism as a form of self-deception rooted in flawed logic that cannot be considered “authentic” by relational standards. Relational authenticity recognizes the interpersonal relationships and social engagements that imbue meaning into agents’ lives, fostering a balance between personal ambitions and social obligations, and enabling more consistently moral lifestyles.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(地球環境学) / 甲第22615号 / 地環博第194号 / 新制||地環||38(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院地球環境学舎地球環境学専攻 / (主査)教授 宇佐美 誠, 教授 佐藤 淳二, 准教授 岩谷 彩子, 教授 出口 康夫 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Global Environmental Studies / Kyoto University / DGAM

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