Peter F. Strawson
Our thought about the world supposes lasting objects and persons: its structure has to be described, without inventing a hidden psychology.
Life
British philosopher (1919-2006), professor at Oxford. In Individuals (1959) he describes the structure of our thought about the world, which supposes lasting objects and persons. His paper "Freedom and Resentment" (1962) grounds responsibility in our reactions to one another rather than in the metaphysics of determinism.
Main works
Describes the conceptual scheme we use, in which bodies and persons are basic.
Our attitudes of blame and gratitude do not depend on the truth of determinism.
A reading of Kant's Critique of Pure Reason.
Positions
click a row to see the evidenceDoubting the existence of the external world is idle: our belief in it is natural and cannot be given up.
Strawson, Skepticism and Naturalism: Some Varieties (1985)
Our reactive attitudes (resentment, gratitude) do not depend on determinism being false; blaming and holding responsible are part of human life.
Strawson, "Freedom and Resentment" (1962)