Necessity, Volition, and LoveOne of the most influential of contemporary philosophers, Harry Frankfurt has made major contributions to the philosophy of action, moral psychology, and the study of Descartes. This collection of essays complements an earlier, successful collection published by Cambridge, The Importance of What We Care About. These essays deal in general with foundational metaphysical and epistemological issues concerning Descartes, moral philosophy, philosophical anthropology, political philosophy, and religion. A hallmark of Frankfurt's work is his crisp and incisive style, which means that these essays should appeal to a wide range of philosophers and to readers in neighboring disciplines with philosophical interests. |
Contents
Descartess Discussion of His Existence in the Second | 3 |
Descartes on the Creation of the Eternal Truths | 24 |
Descartes and Spinoza | 42 |
Continuous Creation Ontological Inertia and | 55 |
Concerning the Freedom and Limits of the Will | 71 |
On the Usefulness of Final Ends | 82 |
The Faintest Passion | 95 |
On the Necessity of Ideals | 108 |
IO On Gods Creation | 117 |
Autonomy Necessity and Love | 129 |
An Alleged Asymmetry between Actions and Omissions | 142 |
On Caring | 155 |
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Common terms and phrases
A. E. Housman action actually Albritton ambivalence Aristotelian Aristotle assertion believe beloved cares character characteristics choice choose claim cogito cogito ergo sum conceive concerning condition consider considerations constraints construe continuous creation course created creative activity creatures deceived depends derive Descartes says Descartes's desire determined devoted difference Discourse on Method distinction divine doctrine doubt egalitarian entails equality essence eternal truths existence fact final ends freedom God's Gueroult heliocentrism Hintikka human ideal important impossible indubitability inference inherent interests intrinsic kind limits lives logical lover matter means Meditation merely metaphysical certitude mind moral law morally responsible motivated necessarily needy person Nicomachean Ethics notion object omnipotence ourselves perform philosophical possess possible preferences principle proposition psychic Pythagorean theorem question Rashi rational reason regard requires respect sake satisfied scholasticism sense simply someone sort Spinoza statement suppose terminal value things Thomas Nagel thought true understanding valuable volitional necessity