Autonomous Agents: From Self-Control to Autonomy

by Alfred R. Mele

Overview

This book addresses two related topics: self-control and individual autonomy. In approaching these issues, Mele develops a conception of an ideally self-controlled person, and argues that even such a person can fall short of personal autonomy. He then examines what needs to be added to such a person to yield an autonomous agent and develops two overlapping answers: one for compatibilist believers in human autonomy and one for incompatibilists. While remaining neutral between those who hold that autonomy is compatible with determinism and those who deny this, Mele shows that belief that there are autonomous agents is better grounded than belief that there are not.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198025474
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	08/03/1995
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Lexile:	1450L (what's this?)
File size:	437 KB

About the Author

Davidson College

Table of Contents

PART I1. Introduction: Self-Control and Personal Autonomy2. Better Judgement: Nature and Function3. Exercising Self-Control: A Motivational Problem4. Self-Control, Akrasia, and Second-Order Desires5. Self-Control and Belief6. Self-Control, Akrasia, and Emotion7. The Upper Reaches of Self-Control and the Ideally Self-Controlled PersonPART II8. Transistion: From Self-Control to Autonomy9. Psychological Autonomy and Personal History10. Compatibilist Autonomy and Autonomous Action11. Problems for Libertarians12. Incompatibilist Autonomy and Autonomous Action13. Assessing the Denial of AutonomyReferencesIndex

Editorial Reviews

"Mele's presentation is philosophically rigorous yet accessible to the non-philosopher. The author demonstrates an impressive grasp of historical and contemporary aspects of the freewill debate and builds upon his earlier work."—Choice

"Mele is a clear and careful writer. His book challenges the reader to reflect seriously on the meaning of self-control and autonomy....Mele has hit his mark in this well-argued, engaging, and thought-provoking book."—The Review of Metaphysics

"...this is a great book. It is rich in arguments, replete with useful examples, and informed by the literature in philosophy and psychology. It is not always easy going, but one's efforts are rewarded. I highly recommend it."—Ethics

From the Publisher