맥베스의 아크라시아
Akrasia in Macbeth
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Akrasia in Macbeth “Why does Macbeth kill Duncan?” has been a dominant question of the readers of Macbeth, and traditionally the play has been read as a morality tale about the perils of ambition. But The aim of this paper is to shift the question to “Why Macbeth can not refrain from killing Duncan?” This article draws attention to the striking fact that, in killing king Duncan, Macbeth acts against the ethical and pragmatic considerations that constitute his decisive better judgment. This suggests the possibility that Macbeth’s much discussed ambition can be understood as a subset of the broader theme of akrasia. Acrasia is a kind of mental condition in which an agent is unable to perform an action he knows to be right. This study suggests two interrelated explanations of Macbeth’s akrasia. First, Macbeth’s connection to the motivational conditions of his knowledge is shallow, and he suffers from his weakness of will. Second, Macbeth’s incontinence is habitual because his weak connection to the conative dimension of his knowledge prohibits him from appealing to techniques of skilled resistance. Finally, his habitual lack of self-control renders him vulnerable to Lady Macbeth’s taunts, which not only depletes the motivation supporting his better judgment but also prevents him from giving full deliberative weight to his better judgment. In conclusion, while Macbeth, taken to his rational nature, knows well that he ought not to kill Duncan, he, led by his specific emotional tendencies, does not know that he ought not to kill Duncan. In the case of Macbeth, knowledge is not enough to prevent his murder.
Abstract
Akrasia in Macbeth “Why does Macbeth kill Duncan?” has been a dominant question of the readers of Macbeth, and traditionally the play has been read as a morality tale about the perils of ambition. But The aim of this paper is to shift the question to “Why Macbeth can not refrain from killing Duncan?” This article draws attention to the striking fact that, in killing king Duncan, Macbeth acts against the ethical and pragmatic considerations that constitute his decisive better judgment. This suggests the possibility that Macbeth’s much discussed ambition can be understood as a subset of the broader theme of akrasia. Acrasia is a kind of mental condition in which an agent is unable to perform an action he knows to be right. This study suggests two interrelated explanations of Macbeth’s akrasia. First, Macbeth’s connection to the motivational conditions of his knowledge is shallow, and he suffers from his weakness of will. Second, Macbeth’s incontinence is habitual because his weak connection to the conative dimension of his knowledge prohibits him from appealing to techniques of skilled resistance. Finally, his habitual lack of self-control renders him vulnerable to Lady Macbeth’s taunts, which not only depletes the motivation supporting his better judgment but also prevents him from giving full deliberative weight to his better judgment. In conclusion, while Macbeth, taken to his rational nature, knows well that he ought not to kill Duncan, he, led by his specific emotional tendencies, does not know that he ought not to kill Duncan. In the case of Macbeth, knowledge is not enough to prevent his murder.
참고문헌 (18)
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