Reasons for Action

Toward a Normative Theory and Meta-Level Criteria

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Metaphysics, Ethics & Moral Philosophy
Cover of the book Reasons for Action by B.C. Postow, Springer Netherlands
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: B.C. Postow ISBN: 9789401728508
Publisher: Springer Netherlands Publication: March 9, 2013
Imprint: Springer Language: English
Author: B.C. Postow
ISBN: 9789401728508
Publisher: Springer Netherlands
Publication: March 9, 2013
Imprint: Springer
Language: English

2 first-person point of view, I acknowledge these possible handicaps and try to overcome them. Other people may coherently judge that I am incapable of figuring out correctly what I rationally ought to do, or they may inform me of reasons of which I had heretofore been ignorant, or they may try to help me overcome intellectual hindrances. Like me, these people would be assuming that the goal is to identify what I really rationally ought to do. Nevertheless, we are concerned with reasons for the agent to act in a certain way, rather than with reasons, say, for someone to want it to be the case that the agent act. Thus to be a reason in our sense is to be a consideration which has an appropriate guiding role to play in the. agents deliberation. (An agent is guided by reasons if she determines what to do in light of the reasons. ) Suppose then that a nor­ mative theory says that it is supremely desirable, or that it rationally ought to be the case, that agents act in a way that maximizes the general utility, but that (since the general utility is never in fact maximized by those who pay attention to it) considerations of the general utility should play no role in the agents' deliberation. Such a theory would not be said to ascribe to agents a reason to maximize the general utility on our usage.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

2 first-person point of view, I acknowledge these possible handicaps and try to overcome them. Other people may coherently judge that I am incapable of figuring out correctly what I rationally ought to do, or they may inform me of reasons of which I had heretofore been ignorant, or they may try to help me overcome intellectual hindrances. Like me, these people would be assuming that the goal is to identify what I really rationally ought to do. Nevertheless, we are concerned with reasons for the agent to act in a certain way, rather than with reasons, say, for someone to want it to be the case that the agent act. Thus to be a reason in our sense is to be a consideration which has an appropriate guiding role to play in the. agents deliberation. (An agent is guided by reasons if she determines what to do in light of the reasons. ) Suppose then that a nor­ mative theory says that it is supremely desirable, or that it rationally ought to be the case, that agents act in a way that maximizes the general utility, but that (since the general utility is never in fact maximized by those who pay attention to it) considerations of the general utility should play no role in the agents' deliberation. Such a theory would not be said to ascribe to agents a reason to maximize the general utility on our usage.

More books from Springer Netherlands

Cover of the book Handbook of Neurosociology by B.C. Postow
Cover of the book Money and Macro Policy by B.C. Postow
Cover of the book Adsorption of Reactive Red 158 Dye by Chemically Treated Cocos Nucifera L. Shell Powder by B.C. Postow
Cover of the book Examining the Examinations by B.C. Postow
Cover of the book Conservation and the Use of Wildlife Resources by B.C. Postow
Cover of the book Elements of Port Operation and Management by B.C. Postow
Cover of the book Jordan: A Study in Political Development (1921–1965) by B.C. Postow
Cover of the book Autonomy and Clinical Medicine by B.C. Postow
Cover of the book Social Development by B.C. Postow
Cover of the book The Nuclear Imperative by B.C. Postow
Cover of the book Animal Cell Technology: Basic & Applied Aspects by B.C. Postow
Cover of the book Forms of Mathematical Knowledge by B.C. Postow
Cover of the book Animal Suffering by B.C. Postow
Cover of the book Social and Medical Aspects of Drug Abuse by B.C. Postow
Cover of the book Environmental Security Assessment and Management of Obsolete Pesticides in Southeast Europe by B.C. Postow
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy