The meaning of BENEVOLENCE

--- by JLS
------ for the Grice Club

---

Grice speaks in "Actions of Events" of a second-stage of 'free' (the first would be the 'feely moving' body, including the electron):

"in which changes are generated in a creature by internal features of the creature which are NOT earlier stages of the same change ... but independent items, the function (or finality) of which is ... to provide for THE GOOD of the creature in question."

-----

Note that if in "Logic and Conversation" (The Oxford lectures, 1967) he was punning on the realm 'between self-interest and benevolence', in 1986 he is getting serious about 'good' (eu, in Greek; but also 'agathon').

We have a pirot.

And we have another pirot.

-----

This stage of 'free' comes up when there is an 'internal' thing in one pirot (a 'willing' -- or 'willy-nilly' as Geary prefers).

If it is oriented towards the 'good' of self pirot, it is self-interest.

If it is oriented towards the good of other, it is benevolence NON-SIMPLICITER. Odd, that. But understandable.

----

I once discussed this with Stich. The idea, for Grice, is that while things like 'willings' only have explanatory power (within a folk-psychological theory, say), we should also give room for those items to have been introduced by the creatures themselves out of a concern on the part of the creature for the good of self or other.

Why would you 'will' if it's not for your or your companion's good? Or something.