Vasubandhu, reactive attitudes, and attentional freedom

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article aims to draw attention to the way in which a subset of reactive attitudes make us less free. Vasubandhu’s explanation of reactive attitudes (kleśas) shows us how they make us less free, as well as how they cause us to act wrongly. They do this by binding us and narrowing our attention. The kind of freedom that reactive attitudes take away is our ability to pay attention to what matters. When we have attentional freedom, we are free to choose amongst the options that matter; when we lack attentional freedom, we are not free to do so. According to P.F. Strawson, reactive attitudes provide us with a ground for moral responsibility because they are a part of our humanity. However, Strawson does not consider the way that reactive attitudes make us less free, nor the implications that arise from this fact. This article addresses both of these omissions.