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Susan Wolf

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description Susan Wolf Overview

Susan Wolf is an American philosopher whose work addresses ethics, moral psychology, free will, responsibility, and the meaning of life. In Freedom Within Reason, published in 1990, she developed the Reason View, which connects responsible agency with the capacity to act in accordance with reason. Her later writing argues that meaningful lives involve active engagement in projects of objective worth, rather than happiness or morality alone.

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What is Susan Wolf's Reason View in philosophy?

Developed in her 1990 book 'Freedom Within Reason,' the Reason View holds that an agent is responsible for an action when she has the ability to act in accordance with reason. It steers a middle course between compatibilism and libertarian free will, and explains why insanity undermines responsibility.

What does Susan Wolf argue in her essay 'Moral Saints'?

In 'Moral Saints' (1982), published in The Journal of Philosophy, she argues that a person of perfect moral virtue would actually be unappealing — dull and one-dimensional. The essay is a landmark of moral philosophy suggesting moral perfection is not the same as a good or flourishing life.

What is Susan Wolf's view on the meaning of life?

In 'Meaning in Life and Why It Matters' (2010), based on her Tanner Lectures, she argues that meaning arises when subjective attraction meets objective attractiveness — that is, actively loving projects genuinely worth loving. Pure pleasure and pure achievement alike fall short of meaning on her account.

Where does Susan Wolf teach?

She spent most of her career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was a longtime professor of philosophy. Earlier appointments included positions at Harvard and Johns Hopkins.