Philosopher Lectures on Human Responsibility

Autonomous individuals who can reason independently are responsible for analyzing and even criticizing existing belief structures, renowned philosopher John McDowell said in a lecture yesterday.

McDowell, a philosophy professor at the University of Pittsburgh, was invited by the Harvard Review of Philosophy for the publication’s fifth annual lecture.

“John McDowell is one of the most revered philosophers who is living today,” said HRP Editor-in-Chief Max H. Wong ’10, who helped organize the event. “It’s hard to pinpoint his effect on philosophy simply because his influence pervades quite literally everything.”

McDowell’s lecture, entitled “Autonomy and Its Burdens,” discussed the nature of human autonomy—or, “what it is to be in control of one’s life.”

McDowell—who contrasted humans, as reasoning beings, against animals—described the human characteristic of autonomy as the self-government of the mind and “the capacity of an individual to determine her thought or act for herself.”

Independent thought processes require the honest assessment of community teachings and beliefs that condition most individuals into a particular mode of thinking, according to McDowell.

Calling autonomy a privilege and responsibility, McDowell said that an autonomous individual is entrusted with the task of assessing and even challenging surrounding belief structures.

“If one takes on a trust from others, one takes responsibility,” McDowell said. “One shouldn’t take that politely.”

In an interview with The Crimson after the event, McDowell said that he did not personally believe an understanding of philosophy is a necessity in some aspects of education.

“It’s not obvious to me that there’s any role for philosophy in a whole branch of academics, like biology,” McDowell said. “There are some systems that simply don’t use philosophy.”