Brute Rationality: Normativity and Human Action

Cover......Page 1
Half-title......Page 3
Series-title......Page 5
Title......Page 7
Copyright......Page 8
Dedication......Page 9
Contents......Page 11
Preface and acknowledgements......Page 13
THE FUNDAMENTAL NORMATIVE NOTION......Page 17
RATIONALITY AND MENTAL FUNCTIONING......Page 21
RATIONALITY AND MORAL THEORIES......Page 27
SUMMARY OF ADEQUACY CONDITIONS......Page 32
2 Practical rationality, morality, and purely justificatory reasons......Page 35
THE PARALLEL WITH MORALITY......Page 44
Prima facie immoral actions......Page 45
Justifications for prima facie immoral actions......Page 46
The set of justifying considerations is different from the set of requiring considerations......Page 47
The distinction between persons is relevant to the distinction between justifying and requiring......Page 49
Justifying considerations need not motivate even a morally good person......Page 51
CONCLUSION......Page 52
3 The criticism from internalism about practical reasons......Page 56
KORSGAARD’S ARGUMENT: MOTIVATIONAL SKEPTICISM DEPENDS ON CONTENT SKEPTICISM......Page 60
Hume......Page 61
True irrationality......Page 63
Williams......Page 64
CONSEQUENCES OF THE ARGUMENT: THE INTERNALISM REQUIREMENT IS TOO STRONG......Page 67
THE DENIAL OF THE INTERNALISM REQUIREMENT......Page 68
CONCLUSION......Page 76
4 A functional role analysis of reasons......Page 78
TAKING THE NOTION OF ‘A REASON’ AS BASIC......Page 79
A FUNCTIONAL ROLE ANALYSIS OF REASONS......Page 81
REASONS AND TWO CONCEPTS OF RATIONALITY......Page 85
REASONS AND MOTIVES......Page 88
WEIGHING REASONS......Page 89
BASIC REASONS......Page 93
THE FINAL ACCOUNT......Page 95
IMPLICATIONS......Page 97
5 Accounting for our actual normative judgments......Page 101
SINGLE-VALUE VIEWS......Page 102
A MOTIVATING EXAMPLE......Page 104
TWO ARGUMENTS AGAINST SINGLE-VALUE VIEWS......Page 108
The two-gap argument......Page 110
The equal justification argument......Page 114
OTHER SOLUTIONS......Page 117
Widespread incommensurability......Page 118
Exclusionary permissions......Page 122
CONCLUSION......Page 125
6 Fitting the view into the contemporary debate......Page 127
MOTIVATING IDEAL MOTIVE ACCOUNTS......Page 128
THE ASSUMPTION......Page 131
HOW MIGHT THE ASSUMPTION BE FALSE?......Page 136
EVIDENCE AGAINST THE UNIQUENESS ASSUMPTION......Page 140
BENEFITS OF REJECTING THE ASSUMPTION......Page 144
CONCLUSION......Page 150
OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVE RATIONALITY......Page 152
WHAT ACTIONS SHOULD ABSOLUTELY NOT BE DONE?......Page 154
THE OFFICIAL ACCOUNT......Page 155
RATIONALITY AS RELATED TO PROPER MENTAL FUNCTIONING......Page 169
CONCLUSION......Page 181
8 Internalism and different kinds of reasons......Page 183
INTERNALISM AND EXTERNALISM......Page 184
An example favoring the Humean interpretation over the Kantian......Page 188
An example favoring the Kantian interpretation over the Humean......Page 190
The irrational sick person revisited......Page 191
The Air Florida case revisited......Page 193
EVIDENCE......Page 198
CONCLUSION......Page 200
9 Brute rationality......Page 202
WHAT ARE NORMATIVE JUDGMENTS?......Page 204
THE BASIC PICTURE......Page 209
EXPLAINING THE JUDGMENT THESIS......Page 213
Quinn......Page 214
Dancy......Page 216
Raz......Page 220
Scanlon......Page 227
RATIONAL ANIMALS......Page 232
CONCLUSION......Page 235
References......Page 237
Index......Page 242