The Dissenter #87 Helen Steward: Philosophy of Action, Free Will, Moral Responsibility
------------------Support the channel------------
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedissenter
PayPal: paypal.me/thedissenter
------------------Follow me on---------------------
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedissenteryt/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDissenterYT
Dr. Helen Steward is a Professor of Philosophy of Mind and Action at the University of Leeds, in the UK. Her research focusses on Philosophy of Action, Free Will, Philosophy of Mind and Metaphysics. In February 2015 she was awarded a Research Leadership Fellowship by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. She’s an associate editor for the journal Philosophical Explorations. And she’s also the author of the books The Ontology of Mind, and A Metaphysics for Freedom.
In this episode, we talk about Philosophy of Action. What is the importance of understanding action and what causes action in studying agency and free will; action as downward causation; how to deal with other animals at a moral level; and the relationship between free will, determinism, moral responsibility, and social stability.
Time Links:
00:57 Why is it important to understand how we produce actions?
03:54 What causes actions?
08:36 The relationship between agency, action, and free will
15:17 What is an agent?
18:07 Action as downward causation
23:17 Studying agency in other animals to better understand free will
27:01 If other animals are agents, do they stand on the same moral level as we do?
30:48 Does lack of free will imply inevitable actions?
35:00 The relationship between free will and moral responsibility
39:23 Should people and legislators know that we don’t have free will?
44:39 Where to follow Dr. Steward’s work
--
Follow Dr. Steward’s work:
Faculty page: https://www.leeds.ac.uk/arts/profile/20042/455/helen_steward
Books: https://tinyurl.com/yb7wazo5
--
A HUGE THANK YOU TO MY PATRONS: KARIN LIETZCKE, ANN BLANCHETTE, JUNOS, SCIMED, PER HELGE HAAKSTD LARSEN, LAU GUERREIRO, RUI BELEZA, MIGUEL ESTRADA, ANTÓNIO CUNHA, CHANTEL GELINAS, JIM FRANK, JERRY MULLER, FRANCIS FORD, AND HANS FREDRIK SUNDE!
I also leave you with the link to a recent montage video I did with the interviews I have released until the end of June 2018:
And check out my playlists on:
PSYCHOLOGY: https://tinyurl.com/ybalf8km
PHILOSOPHY: https://tinyurl.com/yb6a7d3p
ANTHROPOLOGY: https://tinyurl.com/y8b42r7g