The Possibility of Practical Reason

by J. David Velleman

Overview

The Possibility of Practical Reason explores the foundational questions of moral psychology: How can any of our behavior qualify as acting for a reason? How can any considerations qualify as reasons for us to act? David Velleman argues that both possibilities depend on there being a constitutive aim of action―something that makes for success in action as such. These twelve essays―five of which were not included in the previous edition, two of them previously unpublished―discuss topics such as freedom of the will, shared intention, the relation between value and practical reasoning, the foundations of decision theory, and the motivational role of the imagination.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781607853428
Publisher:	Michigan Publishing Services
Publication date:	06/23/2015
Edition description:	2nd Edition
Pages:	371
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

J. David Velleman is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction; 2. Epistemic Freedom; 3. Well-Being and Time; 4. Is Motivation Internal to Value? 5. The Guise of the Good; 6. What Happens When Someone Acts? 7. The Story of Rational Action; 8. The Possibility of Practical Reason; 9. How to Share an Intention; 10. Deciding how to Decide; 11. On the Aim of Belief; Bibliography; Index.