Freedom and Resentment and Other Essays is a collection of essays by well-renowned philosopher Peter Frederick Strawson. The collection brings together some of Strawson’s greatest works that explore a variety of fields such as aesthetics, epistemology, metaphysical theories, and philosophy.
The title essay discusses freedom, exercising free will, the correlation between body and soul, and finding logic. Strawson’s very intriguing perspective on our perceptions as humans and how it influences our imaginations has become a household in the field of philosophy. Despite its dull nature, Strawson manages to offer a convincing argument that puts to rest some mysteries of the human mind and body.
Determinism is a dominant subject in this collection as Strawson attempts to imagine a reality with or without determinism and how that will affect humanity. He argues that people’s initial opinion of things do not usually remain that way as they are subject to a second opinion after much insight on the object has been revealed. The slightest possibility that determinism is true raises immense doubt in the construct of moral responsibility.
Strawson rejects the notion that people are not responsible for their actions and calls it an absurd idea. He states that our actions create who we are and who we become. The things we choose to do or abide by, become the representation of what our nature is like as humans. Humanity’s perception is a significant part of human existence. Once they perceive a target, only then can they begin to dissect and understand it.
