When we speak of the cause of human action we cannot ascribe too much power to the cause, be it prior or posterior. To make room for human dignity requires the causes, no matter how proximate to the motivation, not to be entirely dispositive. Some of what's going on with the person needs to be self-generated and not 'caused' by anything other than his own internal impulses. Duty is a prior cause because the command propels; appetite is a posterior cause because the incentive depends on the outcome; character is neither prior nor posterior – it is doing things because that's how it’s supposed to be done. Actions are events that have attached to them the sense on the part of the actor that the action had value: the action had value, not just the outcome or the resultant of the behavior.
04 October 2010
Action comes from character
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