#Moral Autonomy

[omegaphilosophia]

The Philosophy of Duty

The philosophy of duty, often referred to as "deontology," explores the nature and basis of moral obligations and the principles that define actions as morally required or prohibited. In this framework, duty represents an ethical imperative to act in accordance with certain principles or rules, regardless of personal desires or outcomes.

Key Aspects of the Philosophy of Duty

Moral Obligation: Duty is often seen as an inherent moral obligation that individuals must follow to act ethically. Unlike approaches that focus on outcomes or character, duty-based ethics focus on adherence to rules or principles as the basis for moral action.

Deontological Ethics: Immanuel Kant is a major figure in duty-based ethics. He argued that moral laws are categorical imperatives, meaning they apply universally and unconditionally. According to Kant, actions should be performed out of respect for moral law, not based on their consequences.

Intention and Autonomy: In duty-based ethics, an individual’s intention is crucial. Doing something because it is one’s duty reflects moral autonomy, as opposed to being driven by external forces, emotions, or self-interest.

Universality: Deontology emphasizes the idea that duty is universal. Kant’s categorical imperative holds that one should act only according to maxims that can be universally applied, meaning actions should be considered acceptable if everyone were to act in the same way.

Rights and Justice: Duty-based philosophies often emphasize individual rights and justice. Duties define what actions we owe to others, and by respecting duties, we uphold justice, treating others with fairness and respect.

Conflicting Duties: One challenge in duty-based ethics is resolving conflicts between duties. For example, one may face a conflict between the duty to tell the truth and the duty to protect another person’s wellbeing. Different approaches to duty provide various solutions, sometimes allowing for exceptions, or ranking duties in order of importance.

Beyond Self-Interest: The philosophy of duty implies a transcendence of self-interest, prioritizing actions that benefit others or society, even at personal cost. Duty-based ethics emphasizes that one’s duty is to do what is morally right, even when it may conflict with personal desires or interests.

Duty in Different Philosophical and Cultural Contexts

Eastern Philosophies: In Hinduism, the concept of dharma represents duty aligned with moral, social, and cosmic laws. Similarly, Confucianism emphasizes social duty, particularly in relationships, where acting out of respect and fulfilling one’s role in society reflects virtue.

Existentialism and Duty: Existentialist thinkers challenge traditional concepts of duty by emphasizing individual freedom and choice. Jean-Paul Sartre argued that individuals must create their own values rather than conforming to pre-existing moral codes.

Modern Perspectives: Contemporary deontologists build on Kant’s ideas but often adapt them to address social justice and rights issues, such as the duty to protect human rights, environmental ethics, and global responsibility.

Duty and the Ethics of Care

While traditional duty-based ethics focuses on impartial rules, the ethics of care emphasizes duty within personal relationships, focusing on empathy, compassion, and the obligations that naturally arise in caring relationships.

The philosophy of duty invites us to act beyond immediate gain, considering what it means to act rightly and fulfill moral obligations for their own sake. In doing so, it shapes how we conceive our responsibilities to ourselves, others, and society.

[visenyaism]

Why do I keep seeing Androw defenders all over the internet?

The correct answer I think is misogyny and the ease that people find in empathizing with actually violent men over emotionally complicated women so women dying is just not as bad as a man’s feelings being hurt which is all her fault anyway. but I’ve said that and I still have people in my mentions defending that man, so I’ll just be a cunt out of the gate m and say that I think there are many people out there who find it easier to empathize with the sad and lonely man who became an actual misogynistic serial killer because his manipulative bitch lesbian wife did not put out enough or love him than Rhaena because they too relate very intimately to the experience of getting no play so someone with a wife and six girlfriends is very intimidating to them❤️

[agalychnisspranneusroseus]

Sasha using the title "Lord" in RiAAU after taking over Toad Tower and presumably killing Grime and stealing Barrel's Warhammer from him, and other political and military leaders assuming she's a man because, well, Sasha is a gender neutral name, so they hear Lord Sasha and assume they're talking about an adult male toad warrior. The second most powerful person in the known world and only real threat to the Leviathan reign!

Cue princess Marcy fleeing Newtopia and her father seeking refuge with his worst enemy hoping to offer information and political levarage in exchange for protection, perhaps even offering herself in marriage to transfer eventual inheritances and whatnot, and she finds out that Lord Sasha is not, indeed, a dark and domineering toad warlord, but a beautiful, terrifying girl her age that looks like her and oh god her poor little lesbian heart can barely take it.

[myanxiouspreoccupiedlife]

Between Humanism and White Christian Nationalism: How Oppression Shaped My Struggles with Autonomy and Attachment

Based on my (humanist) belief in these three things, my (white Christian nationalist) parents believe I:

was ‘tricked’ (according to my mom), or

am ‘ruining this country’ (according to my dad, who had just accused me of voting in favor of a topic that I was completely uninformed about and thus had no opinion on).

Their comments and dismissal of my ability to reason, as well as my patriotism and moral integrity, underscore the oppressive and controlling mindset inherent in White Christian Nationalism. They also mirror the dynamics that contributed to the development of my anxious preoccupied attachment style.

[metanarrates]

i think that there is some type of test being posed to me every time a creator holds up a couple of fingerpuppets and goes "im going to make you think about how you quantify what makes a Real Guy." i consistently fail this test because unfortunately 100% of the time i tend to just skip over that question and point at the puppet and go "yep that is a Real Guy."

[uncanny-tranny]

Choosing not to recover is, frankly, a non-action and something neutral. While you can absolutely abuse people, choosing not to recover is not in and of itself an act of abuse, and sometimes it seems like people think that not recovering holds the same weight as abuse. While things like abuse are nuanced and dynamic, recovery is not a respite that prevents abuse from happening.

[isa-ah]

We both were chosen by this destiny…

Why did it have to be us?

[conkreetmonkey]

yk what. Maybe I will hop on the trend and take a break from American political news for a while. I don't even live there so it won't affect me, unless it does in which case Canadian news outlets will report on it. I trust my muties will let me know if the shit really hits the fan. There's no way I won't hear, anyway, my housemates are all pretty into the news anyway. I really don't stand to benefit from any of it, and in the situations where I genuinely need to be informed of something, I'll still find out. All it'll do is make me upset, and I really don't need that in my life rn. thx @gummy-worms-in-my-brain for suggesting it last night. I thought about what you said, and you were right, so. Blocking some tags, setting up some filters, all that jazz.

[recent-rose]

yknow defaulting to "well akutagawa abused kyouka so hes just as bad!!!1" whenever somebody brings up the fact that dazai is a canonically unapologetic abuser is really not the move especially considering akutagawa actually cares about kyouka's happiness. akutagawa took what he learned from dazai, extrapolated on his own desperate wish to please/impress dazai, and assumed that was what kyouka would want from him. to be acknowledged for her strength alone. obviously this is not what she wanted (nor is it what any well-adjusted person would want), but he was literally trying to give her the happiness he did not get from dazai. he abused kyouka because he had literally no other authority figure from which to derive guidance. and in the end he STILL managed to break the cycle of abuse that dazai benefits from to this day. he told kyouka he was happy FOR her. and he was sincere. he showed her, and felt for her, true empathy. they finally understood one another, even if just for that moment. that is where he succeeds dazai, and it is HIS OWN success. dazai had fuck all to do with it besides making it harder for akutagawa to reach that conclusion in the first place. he's also actively making it harder for akutagawa to recover from the abuse he sufferered at dazai's hands by, yknow, lingering in his life like a bad cold. he never just leaves akutagawa be. he's always waiting in the wings to continue using him. compare that to akutagawa leaving kyouka's life entirely after reconciling with her decision to leave and coming to understand the depths of the abuse he visited upon her when she was his mentee. like. god.

[lillotte17]

One of my absolute favorite dialogues you can have with Astarion is after your Durge discovers that they're Bhaalspawn. (which is saying something bc he's got a lot of great dialogues tbh). He's been supportive of you up until now. Hells, he's even kind of into how much of a little freak you are if you're romancing him. But this? This is A Lot for him. His facial expressions are controlled. He chooses his words very carefully, not expressing a strong opinion of you resisting or submitting to your father's will.

You can tell he is already running the mental math in his head about how risky being with you is going to be going forward. He is very much just as freaked out about this as any of the "good aligned" companions. No harm in hedging his bets, though.

BUT if you choose the option to admit that you are scared, and you don't know how to fight back against someone as powerful as Bhaal, his whole demeanor shifts.

"You know, I didn't realize you and I were so alike. I- I felt paralyzed to do anything about Cazador for so many decades. I gave up on myself. I gave up on any hope of escape after a few lashes. Bhaal controls you in much the same way. I don't know how you can beat him, but I do know this; you must try. The half-life of a mind-addled slave is worse than death- don't become his. I wouldn't live another century as one for all the moonstones in Evereska."

Genuinely one of the most honest and introspective and vulnerable responses from him in the whole game. And the soft pleading desperate way he says, 'don't become his'??? I am feral. I am gnawing at the bars of my enclosure.

[jasontoddsno1simp]

@jjaysontodd

Yeah, asks typically stay off because I've been on this hell site for ten years (made my first account back in 2013) and I've been subjected to some SHIT!!

Could be convinced to turn them on, though~

Anyway, the name of the game when it comes to Jason Todd is gaslight gatekeep girlboss, because there is no way in hell some of these bitches rly think he's as bad as they say he is. Especially when you compare his shenanigans to the shenanigans of characters like Bruce or even Tim.

Yes, he kills people. Yes, he can be pretty uncaring about the collateral of his plqns.

But guess what?!

SO IS EVERYONE ELSE!!

The only difference is that we, as Jason Todd enjoyers, know what we're here for.

As for the Helena stans and their beef with Jason, idk what to tell ya, mate. Well, other than it's madness, of course!!

There's definitely a convo to be had about male characters getting more space to be complex than female characters, but that's not what's going here. What's going on here is a treasure trove of fandom feminists have decided that Jason has far too many ~feminine~ traits and that he doesn't deserve to have the support he has within the fandom. Why they’ve come to this conclusion is so inane and idiotic, I refuse to dignify it with a response, but it’s that type of shit why I rly want us to go back to the days of decentralized fandom spaces. Spaces where mods actually had the power to cull and reject nonsense, before it started to spread like a virus. It wasn’t perfect (it bred an air of smug exclusivity that stank of unwashed ass), but it’s better than having to deal with assholes spreading liberal nonsense like”Jason Todd is a cop cause he kills and uses guns”.

As if cops are only dangerous because of the extra judicial killings and the apparatus most associated with them 😒😒😒

Anyway, I would bet money that most of those so called Helena stans don't even care about her like that as a character; they just hate Jason.

Which kinda sucks, cause I find Hintress - like all the Gotham vigilantes - to be fascinating characters. But my want to actually pursue any new info on her has been dead on arrival, because her stans are fucking assholes.

Bottom line, Jason’s story resonates with a lot of people. If you don’t get it or can’t bring yourself to understand, then like… Don’t. You don’t have to. The world would be so much better off if people learned that sometimes… the media you consume is just as personal as it what it says about you publicly.

[iicaru2]

i always bring wyll along to gortash’s coronation for the plot + i just love having him in my party in baldur’s gate because some of my favorite interactions with him are around the city, but that also means i get my heart ripped out and stomped on at the flaming fist checkpoints where he gets insulted for no reason (“more like the ghastliest tiefling south of neverwinter”) or treated like he’s telling a bad joke (“you having a laugh, devil-boy?”). especially because every single time without fail, when the camera pans back over to my party, i watch the smile drop right off his face in a split second. the poor guy just wants to go home hasn’t he been through enough already.

[omegaphilosophia]

The Philosophy of Agency

The philosophy of agency is a branch of philosophy that explores the nature of human action, the capacity for individuals to act, and the conditions under which actions are performed. It is primarily concerned with understanding what it means to be an agent, how agency is exercised, and what factors influence or determine an agent’s actions.

Key Concepts in the Philosophy of Agency:

Agency:

Definition: Agency refers to the capacity of an individual to act independently, make choices, and impose those choices on the world. An agent is typically understood as a being with the ability to initiate actions based on desires, intentions, or reasons.

Central Question: What does it mean to be an agent, and what are the essential characteristics that distinguish agents from non-agents?

Free Will:

Relationship to Agency: Free will is a central concept in discussions of agency. It concerns the ability of individuals to make choices that are not determined by prior causes. The extent to which agents possess free will is a key area of debate in the philosophy of agency.

Debates: The debate between determinism (the view that all events, including human actions, are determined by preceding causes) and libertarianism (the view that free will is incompatible with determinism and that agents have the ability to choose freely) is crucial in understanding agency.

Intentionality:

Definition: Intentionality refers to the quality of mental states that are directed towards something, such as beliefs, desires, or intentions. An agent's actions are often said to be intentional if they are guided by specific goals or purposes.

Importance: The philosophy of agency examines how intentions translate into actions and how intentional actions differ from non-intentional or accidental behaviors.

Moral Responsibility:

Connection to Agency: Moral responsibility presupposes agency; that is, individuals are held morally responsible for their actions because they are agents capable of making decisions and acting on them.

Questions: How does the capacity for agency relate to moral responsibility? Are agents always morally responsible for their actions, or are there circumstances that mitigate or eliminate responsibility?

Autonomy:

Definition: Autonomy refers to the capacity of an agent to govern themselves, make their own decisions, and act according to their own principles and values.

Relevance: Autonomy is often discussed in relation to agency, especially concerning the conditions that must be met for an action to be truly autonomous (e.g., freedom from coercion or manipulation).

Action Theory:

Field of Study: The philosophy of agency is closely related to action theory, which investigates the nature of actions, the processes leading to actions, and the distinctions between different kinds of actions (e.g., intentional vs. unintentional, voluntary vs. involuntary).

Key Questions: What distinguishes an action from a mere bodily movement? What role do reasons, beliefs, and desires play in the performance of an action?

The Role of Rationality:

Rational Agency: Many philosophical accounts of agency emphasize the role of rationality in guiding an agent’s actions. Rational agents are those who act based on reasons that align with their beliefs and desires.

Debate: There is debate over whether all agency must be rational or whether irrational or non-rational actions can still be considered genuine exercises of agency.

Major Theories of Agency:

Causal Theories of Action:

Overview: Causal theories assert that actions are events caused by mental states, such as beliefs and desires. An action is typically seen as the outcome of a causal chain that begins with an agent's intention.

Non-Causal Theories of Action:

Overview: Non-causal theories challenge the idea that actions must be caused by prior mental states. Instead, they propose that actions can be explained through reasons rather than causes, emphasizing the role of rational deliberation and choice.

Compatibilism:

Overview: Compatibilism is the view that free will and determinism are compatible. Compatibilists argue that agents can be free even if their actions are determined by prior causes, as long as those actions align with their desires and intentions.

Libertarianism:

Overview: Libertarianism asserts that agents have free will and that this freedom is incompatible with determinism. Libertarians believe that agents have the power to make genuinely free choices that are not determined by past events.

Structural Theories of Agency:

Overview: These theories emphasize the structures within which agency is exercised, such as social, economic, or institutional frameworks. They explore how these structures enable or constrain individual agency.

The philosophy of agency is a rich and complex field that examines the nature of human action, the conditions for exercising agency, and the implications for moral responsibility and autonomy. By exploring these issues, philosophers aim to better understand what it means to be a free and responsible agent in a world of complex influences and constraints.

[mekatrio]

im kinda dealing w vesperia the same way i did w ff8 where im just sooooooo mad at the flop ending but give it 3 months and ill probably sing high praise for this game but as of rn i need to seeth......

[sammygender]

‘sam has made unforgivable mistakes’ shut up ‘sams redemption arc in s5’ shut up ‘sam’s way of making up for his one evil mistake in s4’ SHUT UP ‘sam’s ending in swan song perfectly redeems his character’ SHUT THE FUCK UP i hope you freaks who condemn sam for like. being an addict and in an abusive relationship and prioritising saving the world in a way that would’ve worked based on the information he had during s4 die. this isn’t about sam haters in general cause wtv apparently he gets pretty shit later on i haven’t seen past s5 yet but it is about people who act like sam somehow needed to repent of all his sins by the end of s5 and being tortured forever is sooooo the #perfect ending to his arc. i hate yall

[rigaudon]

this is why i'm fucking voting.