Conversations on Human Action and Practical Rationality

Conversations on Human Action and Practical Rationality

Author: Susana Cadilha

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published: 2013-07-16

Total Pages: 175

ISBN-13: 1443850039

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This volume brings together leading scholars in the study of practical rationality and human action – namely, Alfred Mele, Hugh McCann, Michael Bratman, George Ainslie, Daniel Hausman and Joshua Knobe. They were interviewed by the editors in a project based at the Institute of Philosophy of the University of Porto structured around the questions: 1) In your view, what are the most central (or important) problems in the philosophy of action? 2) For some or all of the following – action, agency, agent – what do they contrast with most significantly? 3) Which of these are liable to be rational/irrational? 4) In what sense is the thing to do to be decided by what is rational? Are there limits of rationality? 5) What explains action, and how? What is the role of deliberation in rationality? 6) How is akrasia possible (if you think it is)? 7) How do you think your own work has contributed to the field? What are your plans for future research? The outcome is of great interest, not only for philosophers, but also for economists, psychologists, political scientists and sociologists.


Book Synopsis Conversations on Human Action and Practical Rationality by : Susana Cadilha

Download or read book Conversations on Human Action and Practical Rationality written by Susana Cadilha and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2013-07-16 with total page 175 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume brings together leading scholars in the study of practical rationality and human action – namely, Alfred Mele, Hugh McCann, Michael Bratman, George Ainslie, Daniel Hausman and Joshua Knobe. They were interviewed by the editors in a project based at the Institute of Philosophy of the University of Porto structured around the questions: 1) In your view, what are the most central (or important) problems in the philosophy of action? 2) For some or all of the following – action, agency, agent – what do they contrast with most significantly? 3) Which of these are liable to be rational/irrational? 4) In what sense is the thing to do to be decided by what is rational? Are there limits of rationality? 5) What explains action, and how? What is the role of deliberation in rationality? 6) How is akrasia possible (if you think it is)? 7) How do you think your own work has contributed to the field? What are your plans for future research? The outcome is of great interest, not only for philosophers, but also for economists, psychologists, political scientists and sociologists.


Brute Rationality

Brute Rationality

Author: Joshua Gert

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2004-08-19

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13: 1139454153

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This book presents an account of normative practical reasons and the way in which they contribute to the rationality of action. Rather than simply 'counting in favour of' actions, normative reasons play two logically distinct roles: requiring action and justifying action. The distinction between these two roles explains why some reasons do not seem relevant to the rational status of an action unless the agent cares about them, while other reasons retain all their force regardless of the agent's attitude. It also explains why the class of rationally permissible action is wide enough to contain not only all morally required action, but also much selfish and immoral action. The book will appeal to a range of readers interested in practical reason in particular, and moral theory more generally.


Book Synopsis Brute Rationality by : Joshua Gert

Download or read book Brute Rationality written by Joshua Gert and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2004-08-19 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents an account of normative practical reasons and the way in which they contribute to the rationality of action. Rather than simply 'counting in favour of' actions, normative reasons play two logically distinct roles: requiring action and justifying action. The distinction between these two roles explains why some reasons do not seem relevant to the rational status of an action unless the agent cares about them, while other reasons retain all their force regardless of the agent's attitude. It also explains why the class of rationally permissible action is wide enough to contain not only all morally required action, but also much selfish and immoral action. The book will appeal to a range of readers interested in practical reason in particular, and moral theory more generally.


Reasons and Purposes

Reasons and Purposes

Author: G. F. Schueler

Publisher: Clarendon Press

Published: 2003-01-16

Total Pages: 204

ISBN-13: 0191530530

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People do things for reasons. But philosophers have disagreed sharply about how 'reasons explanations' of actions actually work and hence about their implications for human freedom and autonomy. The dominant view in contemporary philosophy is the (Humean) idea that the beliefs and desires that constitute our reasons for acting simply cause us to act as we do. Fred Schueler seeks to replace such causal views, arguing that they leave out two essential elements of these explanations. Reasons explanations are inherently teleological in the sense that the agent's reasons always explain the purpose for which he acted. They are also inherently normative since it is always possible that an agent's reasons for doing something are not good reasons. Schueler argues that causal accounts of reasons explanations make no sense of either of these features; he argues instead for an account based on practical deliberation, our ability to evaluate the reasons we accept.


Book Synopsis Reasons and Purposes by : G. F. Schueler

Download or read book Reasons and Purposes written by G. F. Schueler and published by Clarendon Press. This book was released on 2003-01-16 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: People do things for reasons. But philosophers have disagreed sharply about how 'reasons explanations' of actions actually work and hence about their implications for human freedom and autonomy. The dominant view in contemporary philosophy is the (Humean) idea that the beliefs and desires that constitute our reasons for acting simply cause us to act as we do. Fred Schueler seeks to replace such causal views, arguing that they leave out two essential elements of these explanations. Reasons explanations are inherently teleological in the sense that the agent's reasons always explain the purpose for which he acted. They are also inherently normative since it is always possible that an agent's reasons for doing something are not good reasons. Schueler argues that causal accounts of reasons explanations make no sense of either of these features; he argues instead for an account based on practical deliberation, our ability to evaluate the reasons we accept.


Sovereignty as Value

Sovereignty as Value

Author: André Santos Campos

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2021-03-11

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 1786615886

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Sovereignty as Value is one of the first books to examine sovereignty using solely a normative approach. Through fourteen original essays, the book seeks to understand its viability in a globalized world, thus taking into account the inclusion of a language of rights, limitation and legitimacy. The authors’ focus is on whether sovereignty as a normative concept might be understood as a criterion of legitimate power and authority; as a foundational concept of public ethics applied to political and legal institutions. How should notions of legitimacy be linked with the notion of sovereignty? In what manner is sovereignty challenged by territoriality and territorial control? How does sovereignty relate to political legitimacy? Are all the forms of sovereign authority legitimate? Does the project of advancing human rights globally conflict with the logic of exclusion inherent in the classic notion of national sovereignty? These are some of the questions that will be assessed in this collective volume.


Book Synopsis Sovereignty as Value by : André Santos Campos

Download or read book Sovereignty as Value written by André Santos Campos and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2021-03-11 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sovereignty as Value is one of the first books to examine sovereignty using solely a normative approach. Through fourteen original essays, the book seeks to understand its viability in a globalized world, thus taking into account the inclusion of a language of rights, limitation and legitimacy. The authors’ focus is on whether sovereignty as a normative concept might be understood as a criterion of legitimate power and authority; as a foundational concept of public ethics applied to political and legal institutions. How should notions of legitimacy be linked with the notion of sovereignty? In what manner is sovereignty challenged by territoriality and territorial control? How does sovereignty relate to political legitimacy? Are all the forms of sovereign authority legitimate? Does the project of advancing human rights globally conflict with the logic of exclusion inherent in the classic notion of national sovereignty? These are some of the questions that will be assessed in this collective volume.


Practical Reasoning and Ethical Decision

Practical Reasoning and Ethical Decision

Author: Robert Audi

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2006-03-20

Total Pages: 215

ISBN-13: 1134219210

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Presenting the most comprehensive and lucid account of the topic currently available, Robert Audi's "Practical Reasoning and Ethical Decision" is essential reading for anyone interested in the role of reason in ethics or the nature of human action. The first part of the book is a detailed critical overview of the influential theories of practical reasoning found in Aristotle, Hume and Kant, whilst the second part examines practical reasoning in the light of important topics in moral psychology - weakness of will, self-deception, rationalization and others. In the third part, Audi describes the role of moral principles in practical reasoning and clarifies the way practical reasoning underlies ethical decisions. He formulates a comprehensive set of concrete ethical principles, explains how they apply to reasoning about what to do, and shows how practical reasoning guides moral conduct.


Book Synopsis Practical Reasoning and Ethical Decision by : Robert Audi

Download or read book Practical Reasoning and Ethical Decision written by Robert Audi and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2006-03-20 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presenting the most comprehensive and lucid account of the topic currently available, Robert Audi's "Practical Reasoning and Ethical Decision" is essential reading for anyone interested in the role of reason in ethics or the nature of human action. The first part of the book is a detailed critical overview of the influential theories of practical reasoning found in Aristotle, Hume and Kant, whilst the second part examines practical reasoning in the light of important topics in moral psychology - weakness of will, self-deception, rationalization and others. In the third part, Audi describes the role of moral principles in practical reasoning and clarifies the way practical reasoning underlies ethical decisions. He formulates a comprehensive set of concrete ethical principles, explains how they apply to reasoning about what to do, and shows how practical reasoning guides moral conduct.


Conversations on Ethics

Conversations on Ethics

Author: Alex Voorhoeve

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2011-04-07

Total Pages: 270

ISBN-13: 0191616958

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Can we trust our intuitive judgments of right and wrong? Are moral judgements objective? What reason do we have to do what is right and avoid doing what is wrong? In Conversations on Ethics, Alex Voorhoeve elicits answers to these questions from eleven outstanding philosophers and social scientists: Ken Binmore Philippa Foot Harry Frankfurt Allan Gibbard Daniel Kahneman Frances Kamm Alasdair MacIntyre T. M. Scanlon Peter Singer David Velleman Bernard Williams The exchanges are direct, open, and sharp, and give a clear account of these thinkers' core ideas about ethics. They also provide unique insights into their intellectual development - how they became interested in ethics, and how they conceived the ideas for which they became famous. Conversations on Ethics will engage anyone interested in moral philosophy.


Book Synopsis Conversations on Ethics by : Alex Voorhoeve

Download or read book Conversations on Ethics written by Alex Voorhoeve and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2011-04-07 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Can we trust our intuitive judgments of right and wrong? Are moral judgements objective? What reason do we have to do what is right and avoid doing what is wrong? In Conversations on Ethics, Alex Voorhoeve elicits answers to these questions from eleven outstanding philosophers and social scientists: Ken Binmore Philippa Foot Harry Frankfurt Allan Gibbard Daniel Kahneman Frances Kamm Alasdair MacIntyre T. M. Scanlon Peter Singer David Velleman Bernard Williams The exchanges are direct, open, and sharp, and give a clear account of these thinkers' core ideas about ethics. They also provide unique insights into their intellectual development - how they became interested in ethics, and how they conceived the ideas for which they became famous. Conversations on Ethics will engage anyone interested in moral philosophy.


The Blackwell Dictionary of Modern Social Thought

The Blackwell Dictionary of Modern Social Thought

Author: William Outhwaite

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2003-01-02

Total Pages: 868

ISBN-13: 0631221646

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Modern social thought ranges widely from the social sciences to philosophy, political theories and doctrines, cultural ideas and movements, and the influence of the natural sciences. Provides an authoritative overview of the main themes of social thought. Long essays and entries give full coverage to each topic. Covers major currents of thought, philosophical and cultural trends, and the individual social sciences from anthropology to welfare economics. New edition updates about 200 entries and includes new entries, suggestions for further reading, and a bibliography of all sources cited within the text.


Book Synopsis The Blackwell Dictionary of Modern Social Thought by : William Outhwaite

Download or read book The Blackwell Dictionary of Modern Social Thought written by William Outhwaite and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2003-01-02 with total page 868 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Modern social thought ranges widely from the social sciences to philosophy, political theories and doctrines, cultural ideas and movements, and the influence of the natural sciences. Provides an authoritative overview of the main themes of social thought. Long essays and entries give full coverage to each topic. Covers major currents of thought, philosophical and cultural trends, and the individual social sciences from anthropology to welfare economics. New edition updates about 200 entries and includes new entries, suggestions for further reading, and a bibliography of all sources cited within the text.


Politics of Practical Reasoning

Politics of Practical Reasoning

Author: Ricca Edmondson

Publisher: Lexington Books

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 321

ISBN-13: 0739172263

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This book treats practical and political reasoning as an active engagement with the world and other people; it cannot be understood as exclusively cognitive and this is seen as a virtue rather than a deficiency. Informal, emotional, characterological, aesthetic and interactional aspects of thought can be constituents of reasonable arguing. The work examines key capacities connected with argumentation, in a variety of fields from professional and medical ethics to work organization and the practice of art.


Book Synopsis Politics of Practical Reasoning by : Ricca Edmondson

Download or read book Politics of Practical Reasoning written by Ricca Edmondson and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2012 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book treats practical and political reasoning as an active engagement with the world and other people; it cannot be understood as exclusively cognitive and this is seen as a virtue rather than a deficiency. Informal, emotional, characterological, aesthetic and interactional aspects of thought can be constituents of reasonable arguing. The work examines key capacities connected with argumentation, in a variety of fields from professional and medical ethics to work organization and the practice of art.


Autonomy, Rationality, and Contemporary Bioethics

Autonomy, Rationality, and Contemporary Bioethics

Author: Jonathan Pugh

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2020

Total Pages: 298

ISBN-13: 0198858582

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Personal autonomy is often lauded as a key value in contemporary Western bioethics, and the claim that there is an important relationship between autonomy and rationality is often treated as an uncontroversial claim in this sphere. Yet, there is also considerable disagreement about how we should cash out the relationship between rationality and autonomy. In particular, it is unclear whether a rationalist view of autonomy can be compatible with legal judgments that enshrine a patient's right to refuse medical treatment, regardless of whether ". . . the reasons for making the choice are rational, irrational, unknown or even non-existent". In this book, I bring recent philosophical work on the nature of rationality to bear on the question of how we should understand autonomy in contemporary bioethics. In doing so, I develop a new framework for thinking about the concept, one that is grounded in an understanding of the different roles that rational beliefs and rational desires have to play in personal autonomy. Furthermore, the account outlined here allows for a deeper understanding of different form of controlling influence, and the relationship between our freedom to act, and our capacity to decide autonomously. I contrast my rationalist with other prominent accounts of autonomy in bioethics, and outline the revisionary implications it has for various practical questions in bioethics in which autonomy is a salient concern, including questions about the nature of informed consent and decision-making capacity.


Book Synopsis Autonomy, Rationality, and Contemporary Bioethics by : Jonathan Pugh

Download or read book Autonomy, Rationality, and Contemporary Bioethics written by Jonathan Pugh and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2020 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Personal autonomy is often lauded as a key value in contemporary Western bioethics, and the claim that there is an important relationship between autonomy and rationality is often treated as an uncontroversial claim in this sphere. Yet, there is also considerable disagreement about how we should cash out the relationship between rationality and autonomy. In particular, it is unclear whether a rationalist view of autonomy can be compatible with legal judgments that enshrine a patient's right to refuse medical treatment, regardless of whether ". . . the reasons for making the choice are rational, irrational, unknown or even non-existent". In this book, I bring recent philosophical work on the nature of rationality to bear on the question of how we should understand autonomy in contemporary bioethics. In doing so, I develop a new framework for thinking about the concept, one that is grounded in an understanding of the different roles that rational beliefs and rational desires have to play in personal autonomy. Furthermore, the account outlined here allows for a deeper understanding of different form of controlling influence, and the relationship between our freedom to act, and our capacity to decide autonomously. I contrast my rationalist with other prominent accounts of autonomy in bioethics, and outline the revisionary implications it has for various practical questions in bioethics in which autonomy is a salient concern, including questions about the nature of informed consent and decision-making capacity.


The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Well-Being

The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Well-Being

Author: Guy Fletcher

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-07-30

Total Pages: 546

ISBN-13: 1317402650

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The concept of well-being is one of the oldest and most important topics in philosophy and ethics, going back to ancient Greek philosophy. Following the boom in happiness studies in the last few years it has moved to centre stage, grabbing media headlines and the attention of scientists, psychologists and economists. Yet little is actually known about well-being and it is an idea that is often poorly articulated. The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Well-Being provides a comprehensive, outstanding guide and reference source to the key topics and debates in this exciting subject. Comprising over 40 chapters by a team of international contributors, the Handbook is divided into six parts: well-being in the history of philosophy current theories of well-being, including hedonism and perfectionism examples of well-being and its opposites, including friendship and virtue and pain and death theoretical issues, such as well-being and value, harm, identity and well-being and children well-being in moral and political philosophy well-being and related subjects, including law, economics and medicine. Essential reading for students and researchers in ethics and political philosophy, it is also an invaluable resource for those in related disciplines such as psychology, politics and sociology.


Book Synopsis The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Well-Being by : Guy Fletcher

Download or read book The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Well-Being written by Guy Fletcher and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-07-30 with total page 546 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The concept of well-being is one of the oldest and most important topics in philosophy and ethics, going back to ancient Greek philosophy. Following the boom in happiness studies in the last few years it has moved to centre stage, grabbing media headlines and the attention of scientists, psychologists and economists. Yet little is actually known about well-being and it is an idea that is often poorly articulated. The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Well-Being provides a comprehensive, outstanding guide and reference source to the key topics and debates in this exciting subject. Comprising over 40 chapters by a team of international contributors, the Handbook is divided into six parts: well-being in the history of philosophy current theories of well-being, including hedonism and perfectionism examples of well-being and its opposites, including friendship and virtue and pain and death theoretical issues, such as well-being and value, harm, identity and well-being and children well-being in moral and political philosophy well-being and related subjects, including law, economics and medicine. Essential reading for students and researchers in ethics and political philosophy, it is also an invaluable resource for those in related disciplines such as psychology, politics and sociology.