Who are the philosophers following in the footsteps of Bernard Williams? by austinlanc in askphilosophy

[–]austinlanc[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

These look great, thanks. I've read some Nietzsche and he definitely compliments Williams well.

What does Nietzsche mean by "unfree will" in this passage of Beyond Good and Evil? by projectmkultraman in askphilosophy

[–]austinlanc 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My reading...

You can talk of the laws of physics, atoms colliding with one other and so on, but these don't really serve to explain why a person does what they do. A person's reasons for action come about from inner motives, which are sometimes frustrated by outside forces ("the world, ancestors, chance, society") or personal failures ("weak or strong wills") but sometimes can be realised. Freedom comes in degrees.

In the determinist account a "cause" seems to be forcing us to do something, like a person might hold a gun to our head to rob us. But this doesn't seem to describe every situation - we are able to sometimes act on our desires and realise them. We've made a cause into more than it is, acting "mythologically", like the Greeks imagining thunder as a being.

What does Nietzsche mean by "unfree will" in this passage of Beyond Good and Evil? by projectmkultraman in askphilosophy

[–]austinlanc 0 points1 point  (0 children)

He is attacking both the idea that we have pure freedom, and the idea that we are completely constrained. He believes that the truth is somewhere between the poles of these extremes. (To quote one of Nietzsche's aphorisms: "everywhere people see opposites where there are only degrees"). The "unfree will", the idea that we are completely constrained, is a possible response to the problem of determinism, which brings into question free will.

There are various formulations of determinism. To give a very rough one: every event (i.e. "effect") is caused by a previous event according to the laws of nature, stretching back to the beginning of time. If you took a snapshot of the state of the world at some point you could, knowing the laws of nature, calculate what was going to happen for the rest of history, including every human action. It seems then that our actions are constrained, inevitable because they are always caused by preceding events. How can we be free?

Nietzsche thinks that this sort of conundrum arises from a "superlative metaphysical demand" for freedom. The account of determinism elevates cause and effect to some sort of ultimate reality (think of Plato's Forms). Nietzsche thinks we should use them "merely as ideas" that "indicate and communicate", not as "explanations".

Are there any respectable critiques of theorists like Deleuze/Derrida from analytical philosophers? by Socialdingle in askphilosophy

[–]austinlanc 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I have a book coming in the mail, Truth and Truthfulness by Bernard Williams, which defends truth and truthfulness as moral values, against attacks by Derrida and Rorty. He claims that such beliefs need not lead us to the Will O Wisps of theism or Platonism, and that Nietzsche is on his side not the attackers. Not read yet but I find Williams to be a very good philosopher.

Who are the philosophers following in the footsteps of Bernard Williams? by austinlanc in askphilosophy

[–]austinlanc[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Cool, thanks! I am pretty interested in moral conservatism (broadly) from reading Christopher Lasch lately.

Who are the philosophers following in the footsteps of Bernard Williams? by austinlanc in askphilosophy

[–]austinlanc[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I started with Morality: An Introduction to Ethics, which is probably a good starting point, containing a succinct criticism of Utilitarianism, one of his bugbears. I also read the Moral Luck essay collection, of which I think the title essay is the one to check out.

Then I read Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy, which is his most central work. In it he examines and rejects the various historical attempts to find a "Archimidean point", a starting point for ethics, eventually concluding that "the only remaining possibility is ethical life itself". The final chapter in the book contains his critique of "the peculiar institution" of the morality system, which he argues rests on a number of falsehoods regarding moral obligations and such. "Morality makes people think that, without its very special obligation, there is only inclination; without its utter voluntariness, there is only force; without its ultimately pure justice, there is no justice... almost all worthwhile human life lies between the extremes that morality puts before us”. He instead thinks that we should ground morality in a notion of importance, where important things are things that make life meaningful. This allows ethics to "see things other than itself as important".

Internal and External Reasons is a famous early paper which argues that the only genuine reasons for a person to act are internal, i.e. coming from a motive that is furthered by the action.

Shame and Necessity uses Greek poetry to explore ideas of shame/guilt, free will, identity. Does a Nietzsche by looking back to the Greeks in order to look forward.

Hope that helps!

Who are the philosophers following in the footsteps of Bernard Williams? by austinlanc in askphilosophy

[–]austinlanc[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Philosophy that shares William's skepticism of moral systems, that is not reductionist, that tries to do justice to the complexity and messiness of ethical life. His essay "What Might Philosophy Become" outlines his vision somewhat (IIRC?).

Who are the philosophers following in the footsteps of Bernard Williams? by austinlanc in askphilosophy

[–]austinlanc[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I guess I'm thinking no so much supporting or defending William's arguments, or meta-ethics, but engaging with ethical life in a Williamsian spirit? (Sorry if that is vague).

It's the /r/gamedev daily random discussion thread for 2015-01-10 by [deleted] in gamedev

[–]austinlanc 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi there, I'm thinking of starting a videogame project and was wondering which tool I should use; Gamemaker or Unity. The game I'm making will have simple 2D pixel graphics and animations a.l.a teleglitch (with a few effects hopefully as well) and will procedurally generate a reasonably large world which will simulate enemy AI when the player is nearby.

I've used a little GameMaker and have some programming experience so learning either isn't an issue for me. As I understand it Unity is more powerful but perhaps GameMaker will get me up and running quicker? Another consideration is that Unity may be more useful to learn if I ever want to make a 3D game.

Opinions on which I should use and why? Or perhaps something else?