Quotes by Nomy Arpaly

Nomy Arpaly

“Externality” is a different phenomenon from akrasia and doesn’t always come with it. The set of desires and actions from which one feels alienated isn’t always the same as the set of desires and actions of which one disapproves. It has been pointed out that you can disapprove of something inside yourself but still experience it as yours (“damn it, here I go again!”). In addition, you can approve of something inside yourself but feel like it’s not yours (“when the emergency sirens went off, it was as if someone calmer and more reasonable took over and knew just what to do”).

Action

Desire

Different

A person is praiseworthy for a right action to the extent that her action manifests, and is rationalized by, good will, that is, concern for the right and the good, not necessarily under the description “right” or “good”. A person is blameworthy for a wrong action to the extent that her action manifests, and is rationalized by, ill will – concern for the wrong and bad, also de re – or moral indifference – lack or deficiency of good will.

Action

Indifference

Moral

A very tall man once asked a question after my talk. Before beginning his question, he explained that the reason he was standing up is not to be intimidating but rather to make eye contact. His question was essentially “are we really interested in moral motives? Isn’t it all about action?”. I pointed out to him that it was not enough for him to do the right thing – stand up – but he also wanted me to know that he is doing it from the right motive or for the right reason – to make eye contact, rather than to be intimidating. Voila, moral psychology.

Eye

Men

Psychology

Characters in Hollywood movies encounter a lot of car chases. Characters in novels rarely wash their hands or do their laundry. And in the work of moral psychologists, people deliberate and reflect a lot. They deliberate, one sometimes feels, whenever they perform an action, and certainly whenever they act for good reasons.

Car

Character

People

Duties concern things that are voluntary. I do think that if you have a moral duty to bring me back the book you borrowed, that implies, roughly, that your doing so depends on your wanting to do so: if you want to bring me the book, you will. This is not the case if you are stuck at some airport due to a snowstorm, far away from me. This, however, is not the same as “ought” implying a metaphysical “can”.

Book

Moral

Thinking

For those of us who want to have control over all our mental states, compatibilist substitutes – such as desiring what we desire to desire – will always be like being told, when you desperately want there to be a God, that yes, God exists, as God is simply the good within people.

Desire

God Exists

People

I am an atheist. I don’t think there’s anything divine. Beautiful, impressive, awe-inspiring – sure, but not divine.

Atheist

Beautiful

Thinking

I am not committed in any way to the traditional concept of character – the concept of “character trait” as involving predictable behavior. I am committed to a view in the neighborhood – the view that the moral worth of one’s actions depends on the quality of will expressed in them.

Action

Character

Quality

I don’t think any of my desires or beliefs or other mental states are external to me. Many people will occasionally feel alienated from the motives for an action – “whatever possessed me to do that?”. Note, however, that some people feel alienated from the white hairs that recently appeared on their heads – “who put them there?”, they might ask the mirror – but the white hairs are still theirs. Similarly, I might feel alienated from an action or a mental state because it does not fit with my visceral self – image.

Desire

People

Thinking

I don’t think we are all irrational every time we fail to see through an argument in a book, but suppose it’s true about you. You are still more rational than you think you are. You are irrational in a minor way – believing a misguided theory of the nature of rationality – but rational in a major way – you respond well to probabilistic evidence as you go through the day.

Believe

Book

Thinking

Follow The Behaviour University in order to get the greatest quotes from the greatest people of all time so that you can tap into your own greatness.

Action

Art

Atheist

Baby

Beautiful

Believe

Book

Brain

Car

Character

Childhood

Choices

Culture

Decision

Desire

Different

Eye

Finding Yourself

Funky

God Exists

Good Things

Indifference

Intellectual

Intelligent

Judging

Long

Loving You

Lying

Math

Mean

Men

Missing

Moral

Motivation

Owl

Past

People

Philosopher

Psychology

Quality

Running

Simple

Stupid

Suffering

Thinking

Trying

Virtue

Wish

Wonderful

Writing

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Quotes by Nomy Arpaly

Nomy Arpaly

For those of us who want to have control over all our mental states, compatibilist substitutes – such as desiring what we desire to desire – will always be like being told, when you desperately want there to be a God, that yes, God exists, as God is simply the good within people.

I am an atheist. I don’t think there’s anything divine. Beautiful, impressive, awe-inspiring – sure, but not divine.

I am not committed in any way to the traditional concept of character – the concept of “character trait” as involving predictable behavior. I am committed to a view in the neighborhood – the view that the moral worth of one’s actions depends on the quality of will expressed in them.

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