Read
Lecture One: Taking Ourselves Seriously from Taking Ourselves Seriously and Getting it Right
Think
(General)
What are Frankfurt’s aims in this lecture?
What are the main claims he makes?
What is the central point made in each of the numbered sections?
(Specific)
1) What does Frankfurt identify as the capability that distinguishes humans from non-human animals?
What two features of our nature does he think are centrally implicated in this capability?
Focus on the paragraph in the first numbered section that begins with “Among my aims in these lectures…”
- What three aims does he identify there?
- How does each of the subsequent sentences of that paragraph relate to the final sentence?
2) What does Frankfurt think explains the possibility for us to take ourselves seriously?
3) What does Frankfurt appear to mean when he talks about ‘higher-order responses’?
4) What does it mean to take responsibility for one’s character?
5) What is our psychic default position, and what kinds of things upset this condition?
6) How are facts related to reasons for acting?
7) What is practical reason?
8) What does it mean to act freely?
9) What does it mean to have freedom of the will?
10) Why doesn’t causal necessity threaten our freedom?
11) What does Frankfurt think the Latin phrase ‘acquiescentia in se ipso’ should be taken to mean?
12) What does it mean to care about something?
13) What is the difference between something being important to me and my caring about something?
14) Why does Frankfurt think the normative authority of morality cannot be accounted for by the normative authority of reason?
15) Why does he claim that moral requirements cannot be important in themselves, i.e., without any reference to our beliefs, feelings, or inclinations?
16) So, do we just care about whatever we want to care about and that’s the end of the story?
17) Why do we need final ends, according to Frankfurt?
Write
Journal Entry ( ) Taking Myself Seriously
Do you take yourself seriously in the sense that Frankfurt is talking about? If so, what do you care about? How does this ground your practical reasoning?
I don’t think that I take myself seriously the way Frankfurt means because i’m still going with the flow and just trying to figure myself out. As of now i do have some interests but overall i have no idea what my goals are or what i wish to achieve in life. I do know that i love my friends and my family very deeply but i still need to go out there and live life and have moments and cool experiences, because until you go out and live you won’t know yourself or what your purpose is. You need to keep trying new things and learning about the yourself and your world.
Without a question, I take myself more seriously than probably anyone you will meet. My grandfather once said to me “Jon, you gotta lighten up…you’re always as serious as a heart attack.” This really made me realize that I put way too much pressure on myself to achieve greatness. I know that it is early in my life, but I am all business when it comes down to my livelihood, friends, and family. Sometimes I need to lighten up, but really I keep myself in line by being serious most of the time. My end goal has changed over the years, but for the better. The path I will take to this goal will not be easy, but then again nothing is easy in our society today, which makes me become even more serious and cracking down on my work.
I think Frankfurt hit a lot of key points in a person’s reasoning skills. Unlike animals, people have the ability to determine which factors control their life, and we can think and rationalize about them. This reasoning ultimately affects who and what we care about. I think that this allows me to take myself seriously because I unintentionally pursue relationships where the other person(s) care for me just as I care for them, as Frankfurt says we do things for beneficial responses. At the same, I also agree that people often react just based off set responses caused by the natural world, and that we do not truly have to take in an reason. For instance, we do not have to think about all the responses in our body when we’re jumping out of the way of a vehicle about to hit us. In order to take yourself seriously, I agree with Frankfurt in saying that yes, we have to understand what lies on the surface of our reasoning and love, but we also have to understand the way in which those things are made possible.
Suggestion 1: Causal determinism (everything that happens is caused to happen in that way) and teleological determinism (everything happens for some reason/contributes to some good) are consistent with our conception of ourselves as free, self-determining, authors of our own life stories. Here is how these things are compatible…
I think that casual determinism is just a way in thinking that what happens in our life is ultimately just the outcome of how things are supposed to operate; rather than how they actually operate. Per example, when we turn a corner in our vehicle, we have faith in the fact that the wheels will not fall off. Similarly, when we make a decision to eat, we don’t have to worry about the health of our body and its readiness to digest food, such as other animals may have to do so. In that sense, I think that people experience teleological determinism as a foreground, and then casual determinism happens. People can choose the way in which their story is written, but then once their choice is made, there are limiting factors in which it can actually happen. “Once you get yourself between a rock and the wall, there is no way of getting out.”
When I think about my actions and Frankfurt’s definition of taking oneself seriously, I believe that I fit his definition, because I have a personal set of ideals that will never be surrendered no matter what situation I am put in. There are just certain principles I possess that I could not forfeit or I would feel bad about it and therefore not be taking myself seriously. These principles are born out of finding the true things that you are passionate about and truly care about. I believe that to truly take oneself seriously it is by pursuing relationships that you really care about because those people care about you. I think the definition should be altered though, because sometimes taking yourself seriously is done by knowing yourself enough that you shouldn’t be taking things so seriously.
I don’t believe that I take myself as seriously as Frankfurt describes. I am only just getting out in the world and don’t quite full understand who I even am let alone what I care about in depth. I know I care deeply about my family and my grades. At this point I care very much about my boyfriend. I am constantly evaluating my life and trying to figure out where I am going, what I am doing, what I will be doing and how I will get there. I take myself and my life seriously. I have yet to decide whether I believe I have a destiny/purpose in life or whether we make it up as we go. This all grounds my practical reasoning because I know I have a set of goals and desires that I will try to fulfill for myself. I care about everything else in my life very much but my goals and desires take priority but at the same time, those other things in my life, are making me who I am and might even have some part in my goals or desires.
When asked this question, I am not sure if I do or do not take myself seriously in the sense that Frankfurt is talking about. I know I do care about a lot of things like family and friends, but I am not sure at this point in my life if I do really care about that. I know a lot of things are going to change so I personally believe it is better to put care into some not tangible things like good relationships, care, trust, honor, etc. I do think I reflect and think about the decisions I have made in my life. Some could be better, and some I think I did a pretty good job. I know that I can change if I do not like the path I am heading down, but for now, I think its going the right way. Hopefully the path I am taking will lead me down a successful and happy future, but we are just going to have to wait and see.
I cannot really say whether or not I take myself as seriously as Frankfurt seems to describe. I am just starting to figure out who I am and what is most important to me. I do, however, always reflect on myself the way he seems to describe in the first lecture of the book. I care about surrounding myself with the people that I love, and I care about their well-being at all times. I care about pursuing my dreams and never let myself down or regret anything that I do. I care about becoming healthy and making sure I don’t give up. I care about being a good person to those around me. These are not only things I care about, but all of these things are also very important to me. All of these things make up for every decision that I make and every decision I plan to make.
I think I do take myself seriously in the sense that Frankfurt discusses. I feel that I reflect on myself a lot, hoping that I can improve my life. I think I’m driven more by my interests than anything. Without reflection then maybe practical reasoning couldn’t exist. If I couldn’t identify my own desires, then I feel like I wouldn’t be motivated to reach my goals. For example, I care a lot about getting good grades. I identify with this, reflect on what study habits I can do better, and continuously try to improve my grades. However, I don’t think the reason I study is merely because I know if I get good grades, I might get a good job. Instead, I like the reward of getting an A because of the sense of accomplishment that comes along with it.
Do you take yourself seriously in the sense that Frankfurt is talking about? If so, what do you care about? How does this ground your practical reasoning?
It’s hard to take my self seriously in the sense Frankfurt is talking about because I haven’t really figured out what I love and care about yet so I can’t accept those things yet. For example, right now I believe I care about my family, starting my own family, my girlfriend, and having a good job but since these things may be subject to change I’m not sure what I truly care about. This changes my reasoning because I now realize that I can’t truly know myself without knowing what I love and care about in this world because once I realize those things I will realize what kind of person I truly am.
Shawn Linder
When I was reading Frankfurt’s first lecture he talked about accepting oneself and changing it into what one wants it to be. I agree with this idea because this affects most people in the world. For example if someone is overweight, one will try to lose weight. He also talked about creating and reaching goals for oneself. He also talked about having motivation to take action. Next, Frankfurt talks about caring about what one is interested in. Also, the things we can’t help to care about is called love. Everyone loves different things and can cause a conflict. I can relate to all of the ideas that Frankfurt gave us in his lecture. Personally, I care about fairness in life. Also, equal treatment for all humans. I also care about animals. Next, I care about my friends and family. On the other hand, I care about things like video games, sports and just having fun. This would reinforce my reasoning because the things I care for represents me as a person. I don’t want to stand for the wrong things in life.
In the sense that Frankfurt is talking about, I guess I do take myself seriously to a certain extent. I do want to know what I am here for but I am one of those people that does this through trial and error. I believe that I have a end goal that I’m supposed to achieve but I think the path I choose to take is in my choosing. I care about discovering the truth about myself and the world. I don’t delve too deeply into them though because I feel like I still won’t find what I’m looking for. That’s why I believe that through trial and error, I’m going to arrive at my answers and my overall “destination” in life. I let this affect my practical reasoning because most of the time, I believe I really have nothing to lose. However, there are those few decisions where they are forced but for the majority, I choose with what my gut is telling me. I base a lot of my rational decisions on what my beliefs are not necessarily what on what others try to force onto me.
Shawn Linder
Blog for Suggestion 1: Causal determinism (everything that happens is caused to happen in that way) and teleological determinism (everything happens for some reason/contributes to some good) are consistent with our conception of ourselves as free, self-determining, authors of our own life stories. Here is how these things are compatible…
Causal determinism is inconsistent with ourselves as being the writers of our own life because we have no free will and everything that happens is destined to happen even if we don’t know about it. For example, if we roll a dice, there are multiple outcomes. We can roll a number anywhere from 1-6 and each outcome can cause something different to happen. Some would argue this outcome was destined to happen but we just didn’t know it would. So technically we can still write our own stories, even if they are pre-determined we just go on with life like it isn’t. Teleological determinism also has to do with having no free will. This theory states everything happens for a reason. If everything happens so something else would happen then we can’t affect the outcome because something else was supposed to happen. For example, it rained so we couldn’t go out. Now that we can’t go out we have to do home work. I feel both of these theories are not consistent with free will.