Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

On being difficult: towards an account of the nature of difficulty

  • Published:
Philosophical Studies Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper critically assesses existing accounts of the nature of difficulty, finds them wanting, and proposes a new account. The concept of difficulty is routinely invoked in debates regarding degrees of moral responsibility, and the value of achievement. Until recently, however, there has not been any sustained attempt to provide an account of the nature of difficulty itself. This has changed with Gwen Bradford’s Achievement, which argues that difficulty is a matter of how much intense effort is expended. But while this account captures something important about the relationship between difficulty and achievement, it fails to account for the fact that part of what makes achievements great is that they are difficult in a moderately agent-neutral kind of way. Nor is this thought captured by any other extant account. I argue that to fill this gap we should think of (one kind of) difficulty in terms of low probability of success.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. See, for example, Cohen (2000), Markovits (2010), Coates and Swenson (2013), Arpaly and Schroeder (2014), Nelkin (2016), McElwee (2015), Bradford (2017), Guerrero (2017).

  2. See, for example, Grey (2000), Keller (2004), Bradford (2013). For important discussions of the value of achievements see Nozick (1974), Griffin (1986, 2008), Arneson (1999), Hurka (2001, 2011), Keller (2009), Fletcher (2013), Rice (2013). For important work on achievements done in the context of virtue epistemology, see Sosa (2007, 2009, 2010), Greco (2007, 2010), Pritchard (2010a, b), Carter and Pritchard (forthcoming).

  3. Bradford (2015a).

  4. Bradford (2015a, 2017).

  5. Bradford (2015a).

  6. Bradford (2015a, 27).

  7. Bradford (2015a, 27); Guerrero (2017, 201).

  8. Bradford (2015a, 62–63).

  9. As Bradford recognizes, there are, of course, likely to be other factors involved here as well (Bradford 2015a, 63). It might be, for example, that Messi’s achievements are more aesthetically pleasing than mine. Or that Messi is more competent than me in bringing about his achievements (though I suspect that I am as competent in scoring three rec-league goals a year as Messi is in scoring 40 in the Primera Division). In any case, it seems plausible that at least part of what makes Messi’s exploits greater achievements is that he does more difficult things.

  10. We can stipulate that I exert as much effort playing soccer as Messi does. This stipulation strikes me as plausible given that it would be near physically impossible for me to play three full games within the span of a week as Messi routinely does.

  11. There is, however, one exception to this egalitarianism. Bradford thinks that people differ in the maximum amount of effort they are capable of exerting. She says that ‘some people can try harder than others’ Bradford (2015a, 52). Since how hard someone tries measures partially how great their achievement is, people who can try harder have a leg up. So, this is where Bradford’s egalitarianism gives out. This picture raises two questions. First, is it plausible to think about exerting effort in this way, i.e. as something that we have more or less of an ability to do? (for discussion of this point see von Kriegstein 2017) Second, if that is the right way of thinking about effort, why does this particular ability allow people to achieve more difficult things than others, while all other abilities are denied that role?

  12. Cf Bradford (2015a, 2), Pritchard (2010b, 68).

  13. Bradford (2015a, 31).

  14. As discussed in the case of Messi above, it is likely that acquiring his extraordinary skills was itself a considerable achievement for Heifetz. But this is irrelevant for the point of contention here.

  15. Pritchard (2010b, 68).

  16. Bradford (2015a, 62).

  17. See Bradford (2015a, 18).

  18. To say otherwise is a bit like saying that if Jimmy, who hates chocolate, is forced to eat a snickers bar, there is pleasure “sans for” (it is not pleasure for Jimmy), because relative to the relevant comparison class (most children Jimmy's age) eating chocolate is pleasant.

  19. Bradford (2015a, ch. 2), Bradford (2017, 184–186).

  20. For discussion of Bradford’s account of effort see von Kriegstein (2017).

  21. Guerrero (2017, 203–204). This may also be Pritchard’s view, when he says that a highly skilled person may do something with ease and yet this be an achievement because it is not an “easy success” (Pritchard 2010b, 68–69). The more plausible interpretation, however, is that Pritchard thinks that such cases show that skill can be sufficient for achievement even in the absence of difficulty.

  22. See also Dana Nelkin’s suggestion that “difficulty can be understood in at least two ways… [1] as requiring a great deal of effort… and [2] as requiring a great sacrifice of one’s interests” Nelkin (2016, 357).

  23. Bradford (2015a, 37–38).

  24. Bradford (2015a, 28).

  25. Bradford (2015a, 37).

  26. See, for example, the discussion of complexity as a measure of achievement in Hurka (1993).

  27. Bradford (2015a, 29–39).

  28. Cf. Bradford (2017, 184).

  29. It is conceivable that there is a successful reduction to effort that employs a number of different forms of effort simultaneously. While this possibility is difficult to rule out, I take it that my discussion suffices to place the burden of proof with anyone willing to attempt such a reduction.

  30. Bradford (2015a, 38).

  31. Note also that if Bradford were serious about Heifetz playing the caprices without any effort, she would also have to say, implausibly, that for him the caprices are no more difficult than playing, say, the alphabet song.

  32. Portmore (2007, 10–11).

  33. Bradford (2015a, 47–51).

  34. Bradford (2017). Cf. Cohen (2000, 172).

  35. Guerrero (2017).

  36. Nelkin (2016, 359).

  37. I think that sacrifice is conceptually unrelated to difficulty. Cf. Cohen (2000, 218) endnote 39. Appearances to the contrary are due to the fact that it will often be difficult to make a sacrifice, to motivate someone to make a sacrifice, to deal with the loss of what was sacrificed, etc. Cf. McElwee (2015).

  38. Bradford (2015a, 29).

  39. Bradford (2015a, 29).

  40. Cf. Bradford (2017, 184–185).

  41. Guerrero (2016, 7) emphases added.

  42. Guerrero (2017, 205).

  43. Guerrero (2017, 205).

  44. Guerrero (2017, 201).

  45. Cf. McElwee (2015, 31).

  46. Bradford comes close to explicitly making this argument in her PhD thesis. Bradford (2010, 42–43).

  47. Lackey (2007), Sosa (2007, 2010), Greco (2010), Pritchard (2010a, 20). Cf. Bradford (2015a, ch. 3, b).

  48. It’s worth noting that I would not regard it as a mistake to use the language of ‘difficulty’ for what I call ‘hardness’, and to say that moving boxes and furniture is difficult. I am simply avoiding this use of the term here in order to keep the two kinds of difficulty separate.

  49. Compare Ronald Dworkin’s discussion of parameters and limitations—though Dworkin appears to be saying the opposite of what I am proposing here. Dworkin (1995, 253–260).

  50. See, e.g., Pfeifer (2006).

  51. The main problem with such a project would be a Bertrand style paradox. Given that there are uncountably many possible worlds, there are infinitely many possible ways of measuring a set of possible worlds. It is not easy to see how one could pick 'the right' one without resorting to probability – thus making the proposed analysis circular. See Hájek (2012, Sect. 3.1).

  52. Cf. Pollock (1990, 72–73).

  53. For helpful discussion and comments at various stages, I’m grateful to Kenneth Boyd, Gwen Bradford, Diana Heney, Thomas Hurka, Andreas T. Schmidt, Wayne Sumner, Sergio Tenenbaum, and Jonathan Weisberg.

References

  • Arneson, R. J. (1999). Human flourishing versus desire satisfaction. Social Philosophy and Policy, 16(1), 113–142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arpaly, N., & Schroeder, T. (2014). In praise of desire. New York: OUP.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bradford, G. (2010). Achievements. Yale University Doctoral Thesis, New Haven.

  • Bradford, G. (2013). The value of achievements. Pacific Philosophical Quarterly, 94(2), 204–224.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bradford, G. (2015a). Achievement. Oxford: OUP.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bradford, G. (2015b). Knowledge, achievement, and manifestation. Erkenntnis, 80(1), 97–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bradford, G. (2017). Hard to know. In J. W. Wieland & P. Robichaud (Eds.), Responsibility: The epistemic condition. Oxford: OUP.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carter, J. A., & Pritchard, D. (forthcoming). The epistemology of cognitive enhancement. Journal of Medicine and Philosophy. https://philpapers.org/archive/CARTEO-58.pdf.

  • Coates, J., & Swenson, P. (2013). Reason-responsiveness and degrees of responsibility. Philosophical Studies, 165, 629–645.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, G. A. (2000). If you’re an egalitarian, how come you’re so rich?. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dworkin, R. (1995). Foundations of liberal equality. In S. Darwall (Ed.), Equal freedom: Selected Tanner lectures of human values. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fletcher, G. (2013). A fresh start for the objective-list theory of well-being. Utilitas, 25(2), 206–220.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greco, J. (2007). The nature of ability and the purpose of knowledge. Philosophical issues, 17(1), 57–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greco, J. (2010). Achieving knowledge. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Grey, W. (2000). Gasking’s proof. Analysis, 60(4), 368–370.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Griffin, J. (1986). Well-being: Its meaning, measurement and moral importance. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Griffin, J. (2008). On human rights. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Guerrero, A. (2016). Intellectual difficulty and moral responsibility: Pre-print. Retrieved at http://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/1011404/26891527/1456937056457/12Guerrero_Revised.pdf?token=5a6Ne5tRxVl8%2BfXXzwx43SmHOdY%3D.

  • Guerrero, A. (2017). Intellectual difficulty and moral responsibility. In J. W. Wieland & P. Robichaud (Eds.), Responsibility: The epistemic condition. Oxford: OUP.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hájek, A. (2012). Interpretations of probability. In E. Zalta (Ed.) The Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (winter 2012 edition). URL = <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2012/entries/probability-interpret/>. Accessed 6 Nov 2017.

  • Hurka, T. (1993). Perfectionism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hurka, T. (2001). Virtue, vice, and value. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hurka, T. (2011). The best things in life. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keller, S. (2004). Welfare and the achievement of goals. Philosophical Studies, 121, 27–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keller, S. (2009). Welfare as success. Nous, 43, 656–683.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lackey, J. (2007). Why we don’t deserve credit for everything we know. Synthese, 158, 345–361.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Markovits, J. (2010). Acting for the right reasons. Philosophical Review, 119(2), 201–242.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McElwee, B. (2015). What is demandingness? In Marcel van Ackeren & Michael Kühler (Eds.), The limits of moral obligation. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nelkin, D. (2016). Difficulty and degrees of moral praiseworthiness and blameworthiness. Nous, 50(2), 356–378.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nozick, R. (1974). Anarchy, State, and Utopia. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pfeifer, J. (2006). Laws of Nature. In J. Pfeifer & S. Sarkar (Eds.), The philosophy of science: An encyclopedia (Vol. I). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pollock, J. (1990). Nomic probability and the foundations of induction. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Portmore, D. (2007). Welfare, achievement, and Self-sacrifice. Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy, 2(2), 1–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pritchard, D. (2010a). Achievement, luck and value. Think, 9(25), 19–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pritchard, D. (2010b). Knowledge and understanding. In D. Pritchard, A. Millar, & A. Haddock (Eds.), The nature and value of knowledge. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Rice, C. (2013). Defending the Objective list theory of well-being. Ratio, 26(2), 196–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sosa, E. (2007). A virtue epistemology: Apt belief and reflective knowledge (Vol. 1). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Sosa, E. (2009). Reflective knowledge: Apt belief and reflective knowledge (Vol. 2). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Sosa, E. (2010). Knowing full well. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Von Kriegstein, H. (2017). Effort and achievement. Utilitas, 29(1), 27–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ted Rogers School of Management, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada

    Hasko von Kriegstein

Authors
  1. Hasko von Kriegstein
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hasko von Kriegstein.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

von Kriegstein, H. On being difficult: towards an account of the nature of difficulty. Philos Stud 176, 45–64 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11098-017-1005-3

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11098-017-1005-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation