PHL100Y1 Lecture Notes - Johns Hopkins University, Susan R. Wolf, Rhetorical Question
Document Summary
[1] susan wolf (born 1952), taught at harvard, university of maryland, and john hopkins. University; currently teaches at the university of north carolina at chapel hill. Known for her work in ethics and philosophy of mind/action. Recall kant"s view that our actions have to be ultimately determined by our wills acting freely, with no prior determining causes whatsoever. [4] to this rhetorical challenge wolf replies that we should consider how in ordinary life we decide whether to hold somebody responsible or not. In relevant cases, the condition of sanity is invoked and, in the legal environment, this condition is well understood and its application well regulated. This is explained by the example of jojo and the ways in which we are inclined to hold him partly but not fully responsible for his actions, which wolf thinks has to do with the condition of sanity.
