An original interpretation of John Locke's metaphysics of moral agency
Antonia Lolordo presents , in which to be a moral agent is simply to be free, rational, and a person. Her account bears on Locke's metaphysics and political theory, and helps us understand his wider philosophical project and his accounts of liberty, personhood, and rationality.
An original interpretation of John Locke's metaphysics of moral agency
Antonia Lolordo presents , in which to be a moral agent is simply to be free, rational, and a person. Her account bears on Locke's metaphysics and political theory, and helps us understand his wider philosophical project and his accounts of liberty, personhood, and rationality.
Antonia Lolordo presents an original interpretation of John Locke's conception of moral agency--one that has implications both for his metaphysics and for the foundations of his political theory. Locke denies that species boundaries exist independently of human convention, holds that the human mind may be either an immaterial substance or a material one to which God has superadded the power of thought, and insists that animals possess the ability to perceive, will,and even reason--indeed, in some cases to reason better than humans. Thus, he eliminates any sharp distinction between humans and the rest of the animal kingdom. However, in his ethical and politicalwork Locke assumes that there is a sharp distinction between moral agents and other beings. He thus needs to be able to delineate the set of moral agents precisely, without relying on the sort of metaphysical and physical facts his predecessors appealed to. Lolordo argues that for Locke, to be a moral agent is simply to be free, rational, and a person. Interpreting the Lockean metaphysics of moral agency in this way helps us to understand both Locke's over-arching philosophical projectand the details of his accounts of liberty, personhood, and rationality.
“fascinating . . . Her picture of Locke's avoidance of metaphysics is, I think, an extremely significant one . . . LoLordo has written a book that is a solid and well-supported addition to the literature, and one that will certainly be provocative.”
Margaret Atherton, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews
concise, tightly focused, clear, engaging, and well written. It contributes both to scholarship on Locke and to current debates. M.A. Michael, Choice
Antonia LoLordo is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Virginia. She is the author of Pierre Gassendi and the Birth of Early Modern Philosophy and various articles on Descartes, Gassendi, Hume, Locke, Malebranche, and others. She received her PhD from Rutgers University.
Antonia Lolordo presents an original interpretation of John Locke's conception of moral agency--one that has implications both for his metaphysics and for the foundations of his political theory. Locke denies that species boundaries exist independently of human convention, holds that the human mind may be either an immaterial substance or a material one to which God has superadded the power of thought, and insists that animals possess the ability to perceive, will, and even reason--indeed, in some cases to reason better than humans. Thus, he eliminates any sharp distinction between humans and the rest of the animal kingdom. However, in his ethical and political work Locke assumes that there is a sharp distinction between moral agents and other beings. He thus needs to be able to delineate the set of moral agents precisely, without relying on the sort of metaphysical and physical facts his predecessors appealed to. Lolordo argues that for Locke, to be a moral agent is simply to be free, rational, and a person. Interpreting the Lockean metaphysics of moral agency in this way helps us to understand both Locke's over-arching philosophical project and the details of his accounts of liberty, personhood, and rationality.
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