Abstract
An inverse akratic act is one who believes X, all things considered, is the correct act, and yet performs ~X, where ~X is the correct act. A famous example of such a person is Huck Finn. He believes that he is wrong in helping Jim, and yet continues to do so. In this paper I investigate Huck’s nature to see why he performs such acts contrary to his beliefs. In doing so, I explore the nature of empathy and show how powerful Huck’s empathic feelings are. Drawing from Martin L. Hoffman, I show the relationship between empathy and a principle of justice. This relationship leads to Huck acting virtuously, as Rosalind Hursthouse maintains.
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Notes
The whole self theory, put forth by Arpaly and Schroeder, says “an agent is more praiseworthy for a good action…the more the morally relevant psychological factors underlying it are integrated within her overall personality” (Arpaly and Schroeder 1999, p. 172, my italics). In other words, an agent’s motives and action are interconnected; furthermore, the closer they are interconnected, the more praise or blameworthy an agent becomes. Moreover, by psychological factors, they are referring to beliefs, desires, emotions, or any other psychological entity that influences an agent to perform an action. Furthermore, a well-integrated belief or desire is one that is (1) deep and (2) not in opposition to another belief or desire. In Huck’s case, his desires run deeper than his belief. Thus, one can praise Huck’s whole self.
References
Arpaly N, Schroeder T (1999) Praise, blame and the whole self. Philos Stud 93:161–188 doi:10.1023/A:1004222928272
Bennett J (1974) The conscience of Huckleberry Finn. Philosophy 49:123–134
Hoffman M (2000) Empathy and moral development: implications for caring and justice. Camb. University Press, N. Y
Hursthouse R (1999) On virtue ethics. Oxf. University Press, N. Y
Snow N (2000) Empathy. Am Philos Q 37:65–78
Acknowledgment
I would like to thank an anonymous reviewer from Ethical Theory and Moral Practice for helpful comments on earlier versions of this paper. I would also like to give a special thanks to Nancy Snow for all of our lively discussions, her insight into the nature of empathy and helpful written comments on earlier drafts of this paper.
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Kleist, C. Huck Finn the Inverse Akratic: Empathy and Justice. Ethic Theory Moral Prac 12, 257–266 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10677-008-9144-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10677-008-9144-4