Necessity, Volition, and Love

by Harry G. Frankfurt

• ISBN13: 9780521632997
• ISBN10: 0521632994
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1998-11-28
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

One of the most influential of contemporary philosophers, Harry Frankfurt has made major contributions to the philosophy of action, moral psychology, and the study of Descartes. This collection of essays complements an earlier, successful collection published by Cambridge, The Importance of What We Care About. These essays deal in general with foundational metaphysical and epistemological issues concerning Descartes, moral philosophy, philosophical anthropology, political philosophy, and religion. A hallmark of Frankfurt's work is his crisp and incisive style, which means that these essays should appeal to a wide range of philosophers and to readers in neighboring disciplines with philosophical interests.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Sources	xii
The Logic of Omnipotence	1	(2)
Descartes's Discussion of His Existence in the Second Meditation	3	(21)
Descartes on the Creation of the Eternal Truths	24	(18)
Two Motivations for Rationalism: Descartes and Spinoza	42	(13)
Continuous Creation, Ontological Inertia, and the Discontinuity of Time	55	(16)
Concerning the Freedom and Limits of the Will	71	(11)
On the Usefulness of Final Ends	82	(13)
The Faintest Passion	95	(13)
On the Necessity of Ideals	108	(9)
On God's Creation	117	(12)
Autonomy, Necessity, and Love	129	(13)
An Alleged Asymmetry between Actions and Omissions	142	(4)
Equality and Respect	146	(9)
On Caring	155	(1)
Caring and Necessity	155	(12)
The Necessities of Love	167