P. F. Strawson Quotes
Sir Peter Frederick Strawson was a British analytic philosopher and a long-standing fellow of University College, Oxford. His paper On Referring criticized Russell's theory of descriptions, and his Individuals produced a descriptive metaphysics that took persons and material bodies as the basic particulars of our conceptual scheme. The quotes below are attributed to P. F. Strawson, organized by topic.
P. F. Strawson on Knowledge
-
Attributed to P. F. Strawson:
“Descriptive metaphysics is content to describe the actual structure of our thought about the world.”
-
Attributed to P. F. Strawson:
“It is no use looking for a transcendental deduction in the form of a knock-down argument.”
P. F. Strawson on Mind
-
Attributed to P. F. Strawson:
“Persons are the basic particulars of our conceptual scheme.”
P. F. Strawson on Virtue
-
Attributed to P. F. Strawson:
“Reactive attitudes are the foundation of moral life.”
-
Attributed to P. F. Strawson:
“Moral responsibility is rooted in our actual practices of reaction and demand.”