Freedom in Friendship and Community | Prof. James Madden
Sep 15, 2020
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Prof. James Madden discusses the relationship between freedom, responsibility, and knowledge, emphasizing the importance of ethical education. The podcast explores self-knowledge through social sciences, the role of friendship in achieving true freedom, and the balance between independence and dependence on others.
Ethically significant actions are justified by a commitment to goods that constitute the good life, rather than being solely motivated by efficient causes.
Achieving practical wisdom involves retrospectively assessing ethically significant decisions and taking responsibility for actions.
Deep dives
Ethically Significant Action
Actions are ethically significant not solely due to internal psychological mechanisms but are justified by a commitment to goods that constitute the good life. Whether actions are caused by internal psychological mechanisms does not impact how one raises children, interacts with colleagues, or plans their life. Ethically significant actions are justified by a commitment to certain goods that comprise the good life, rather than being solely motivated by efficient causes.
Retrospective Accessibility of Ethical Actions
The connection between actions and their ultimate reasons is often only clear in retrospect, suggesting that our reasons for acting are often carried by inherited histories and institutions. Critical reflection on inherited forms of life and a willingness to revise long-term dispositions are crucial aspects of ethical education. Achieving practical wisdom involves retrospectively assessing our ethically significant decisions and taking responsibility for our actions.
Freedom and Responsibility
Freedom is intertwined with responsibility to one's form of life and a commitment to explicit justifications based on goods that truly matter. Being in the logical space of reasons entails moving beyond passivity and offering sincere justifications for one's actions. A free person is capable of reflecting on and critiquing their actions, striving for alignment between their motives and the justifications rooted in real goods.
Challenges to Freedom: Self-Ignorance and Genealogical Subversion
Self-ignorance and genealogical subversion can threaten freedom by distorting motives and inhibiting rational agency. Acknowledging and confronting self-ignorance through transparency and critique by others are essential for achieving true freedom. Trusting others to provide honest feedback and engaging in limited genealogical subversions within a context of mutual trust and goodwill are crucial for overcoming self-delusions and achieving authentic self-knowledge.
This talk is Prof. Madden's second lecture given at the Thomistic Institute's intellectual retreat, "Virtuous Autonomy: Freedom and Independence in a Technological Age," August 7 - 10, 2020.
For more events and info, please visit thomisticinstitute.org
Speaker bio:
Dr. James Madden is Professor of Philosophy at Benedictine College. He lives in Atchison, Kansas with his wife (Jennifer) and their six children. He is originally from Wisconsin, where he received a B.A. from St. Norbert College, and did his graduate work at Kent State (MA, 1998) and Purdue (Ph.D., 2002). He was awarded the Benedictine College Distinguished Educator of the Year Award in 2006. Prof. Madden's long term research interests are modern philosophy, philosophy of religion, and philosophy of mind.
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