Freedom and Resentment

E100613

philosophical essay work on moral responsibility

Freedom and Resentment is a landmark philosophical essay by P. F. Strawson that reshaped debates on moral responsibility by emphasizing the role of our interpersonal reactive attitudes over metaphysical theories of free will.

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All labels observed (3)

Label	Occurrences
Freedom and Resentment canonical	1
Freedom and Resentment and Other Essays	1
“Freedom and Resentment” by P. F. Strawson	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T839899 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Freedom and Resentment
Context triple: [P. F. Strawson, notableWork, Freedom and Resentment]

A. An Essay on Liberation
An Essay on Liberation is a 1969 philosophical work by Herbert Marcuse that critiques advanced industrial society and explores the possibilities for radical social transformation and human emancipation.
B. Beyond Freedom and Dignity
Beyond Freedom and Dignity is a controversial 1971 book by behaviorist B. F. Skinner that argues human behavior is best shaped through environmental conditioning rather than notions of free will or moral autonomy.
C. The Element of Freedom
The Element of Freedom is a 2009 R&B and soul studio album by Alicia Keys that blends piano-driven ballads with mid-tempo tracks exploring themes of love, vulnerability, and empowerment.
D. Voices of Freedom
Voices of Freedom is a collection of antislavery poems by John Greenleaf Whittier that powerfully advocated for the abolitionist cause in 19th-century America.
E. Letter to the Free
"Letter to the Free" is a politically charged hip-hop song by Common that reflects on mass incarceration and racial injustice in the United States.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Freedom and Resentment
Target entity description: Freedom and Resentment is a landmark philosophical essay by P. F. Strawson that reshaped debates on moral responsibility by emphasizing the role of our interpersonal reactive attitudes over metaphysical theories of free will.

A. An Essay on Liberation
An Essay on Liberation is a 1969 philosophical work by Herbert Marcuse that critiques advanced industrial society and explores the possibilities for radical social transformation and human emancipation.
B. Beyond Freedom and Dignity
Beyond Freedom and Dignity is a controversial 1971 book by behaviorist B. F. Skinner that argues human behavior is best shaped through environmental conditioning rather than notions of free will or moral autonomy.
C. The Element of Freedom
The Element of Freedom is a 2009 R&B and soul studio album by Alicia Keys that blends piano-driven ballads with mid-tempo tracks exploring themes of love, vulnerability, and empowerment.
D. Voices of Freedom
Voices of Freedom is a collection of antislavery poems by John Greenleaf Whittier that powerfully advocated for the abolitionist cause in 19th-century America.
E. Letter to the Free
"Letter to the Free" is a politically charged hip-hop song by Common that reflects on mass incarceration and racial injustice in the United States.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (48)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	philosophical essay ⓘ work on moral responsibility ⓘ
arguesAgainst	overemphasis on metaphysical determinism in responsibility debates ⓘ
author	P. F. Strawson ⓘ
citedBy	compatibilist theorists ⓘ incompatibilist critics ⓘ philosophers of moral responsibility ⓘ
contrastsWith	purely metaphysical accounts of free will ⓘ
countryOfOrigin	United Kingdom ⓘ
discusses	excusing conditions for responsibility ⓘ mitigating conditions for blame ⓘ
emphasizes	centrality of reactive attitudes in responsibility ⓘ importance of interpersonal practices ⓘ participant stance toward others ⓘ practices of praise and blame ⓘ
fieldOfWork	ethics ⓘ metaethics ⓘ philosophy of action ⓘ philosophy of mind ⓘ
focusesOn	emotional responses such as resentment and gratitude ⓘ ordinary interpersonal life ⓘ practices of holding responsible ⓘ
genre	philosophical paper ⓘ
hasKeyIdea	determinism need not undermine responsibility practices ⓘ importance of interpersonal expectations and demands ⓘ moral responsibility tied to quality of will ⓘ reactive attitudes are natural human responses ⓘ responsibility grounded in human practices ⓘ
influenced	P. F. Strawson’s later work on ethics ⓘ compatibilist accounts of free will ⓘ contemporary debates on moral responsibility ⓘ reactive attitudes theory of responsibility ⓘ
introducesConcept	objective attitude toward others ⓘ participant reactive attitudes ⓘ
isConsidered	classic essay in free will literature ⓘ foundational text on reactive attitudes ⓘ landmark in 20th-century moral philosophy ⓘ
language	English ⓘ
mainTopic	compatibilism ⓘ determinism ⓘ free will ⓘ freedom ⓘ interpersonal relationships ⓘ moral responsibility ⓘ reactive attitudes ⓘ
partOf	debate on free will and determinism ⓘ
philosophicalTradition	analytic philosophy ⓘ
publishedIn	20th century ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

P. F. Strawson → notableWork → Freedom and Resentment ⓘ

Skepticism and Naturalism: Some Varieties → relatedWork → Freedom and Resentment and Other Essays ⓘ

linked to: Freedom and Resentment

Mind → hasNotablePaper → “Freedom and Resentment” by P. F. Strawson ⓘ

subject linked to: journal Mind