Grice on freedom

--- From PPQ, vol. 67, p. 35.

The closing page of Grice's monumental essay indicates his concern with what matters in philosophy. The last paragraph is a lesson in weltanschauung, as he puts it (he liked the word).

"Attention to the idea of freedom may

lead us to the need to revolve

or dissolve the most important UNsolved

problems."

-------

"How can we be at one and the same time

members of both the phainomenal and the

noumenal world?"

----

"To put the issue less cryptically: how

do we settle the internal conflict

between one part of our 'theoretical'

rational nature, the scientific part

which seems to call for the universal

reign of totally deterministic law,

AND something else?"

---

I.e. "that other Practical rational part,

which insists that not MERELY moral

responsibility BUT ***EVERY*** variety

of rational belief demands exemption

from just such a reign?"

---- The answer has to be constructed. Davidson, and other non-constructivists, who are rather happy with a naive 'diagnostic realism' that respects Science for what science cannot provide, miserably fails in not recognising so.