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Self-Constitution in the Ethics of Plato and Kant
(Oxford University Press, 2008)
Plato and Kant advance a "Constitutional Model" of the soul, in which reason and passion have different functional roles in the generation of motivation, as opposed to Hume's "Combat Model" in which they are portrayed as ...
The Normativity of Instrumental Reason
(Oxford University Press, 2008)
Most philosophers think it uncontroversial that practical reason requires us to take the means to our ends, but have been silent about the normative foundation of this requirement. The interesting question, almost everyone ...
Introduction to The Constitution of Agency
(Oxford University Press, 2008)
This introductory chapter summarizes the themes of the book. It explains the general idea of self-constitution: that we constitute our agency by choosing our actions in accordance with the principles of practical reason. ...
Aristotle's Function Argument
(Oxford University Press, 2008)
In Nicomachean Ethics 1.7, Aristotle claims that to discover the human good we must identify the function of a human being. He argues that the human function is rational activity. Our good is therefore rational activity ...
Acting for a Reason
(Oxford University Press, 2008)
Starting from the debate over whether practical reasons are mental states or the facts to which those mental states are a response, this chapter argues that being motivated by a practical reason must be a reflexive form ...
Taking the Law into Our Own Hands: Kant on the Right to Revolution
(Oxford University Press, 2008)
Kant condemned revolution as a violation of a duty of justice, yet was a supporter of the French Revolution. This chapter defends Kant's view that revolution is a violation of a duty of justice by appeal to the fact that ...
Just Like All the Other Animals of the Earth
(Harvard Divinity School, 2008)
From Duty and for the Sake of the Noble: Kant and Aristotle on Morally Good Action
(Oxford University Press, 2008)
Aristotle believes that an agent lacks virtue unless she enjoys the performance of virtuous actions, while Kant claims that the person who does her duty despite contrary inclinations exhibits a moral worth that the person ...
The General Point of View: Love and Moral Approval in Hume's Ethics
(Oxford University Press, 2008)
Hume thinks moral judgments are based on sentiments of approval and disapproval we feel when we contemplate someone from a “general point of view.” But why do we take up the general point of view? Hume argues that we take ...
Realism and Constructivism in Twentieth Century Moral Philosophy
(Oxford University Press, 2008)
This chapter traces the development of one of the central debates of late 20th-century moral philosophy — the debate between realism and what Rawls called “constructivism.” It argues that realism is a reactive position ...