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Show Rationality and the Structure of the Self, Volume II: A Kantian Conception 193 LS-P a a b n+2a c n g b n+2b g d n+1 f t1 t2 i j n+3a h e n+4a n+4b n+3b n+3c t3 tn Figure 8. The Highest-Order Disposition to Literal Self-Preservation In Figure 8, LS-P (Literal Self-Preservation) lacks a choice node origin because at no point is it the object of a choice; it is a necessary condition that any choice presupposes. Similarly, it does not lead to a choice node because it does not generate any specific choices; it imposes an environmental constraint that any such choice must satisfy. Hence the relation between this highestorder disposition and an agent's genuine preferences is asymmetrical. Although LS-P need satisfy no further consistency criteria relative to them, they must satisfy the above consistency criteria relative to it. The highestorder disposition to literal self-preservation provides the enduring backbone against which the consistency of an agent's preferences - and so his personal continuity - is measured. Therefore it is the metaphysical backbone against which the mere psychological preference for consistency itself, which McClennen described in Section 5 of the preceding chapter, must be measured. © Adrian Piper Research Archive Foundation Berlin |
