Over the last several decades, questions about practical reason have come to occupy the center stage in ethics and metaethics. The Routledge Handbook of Practical Reason is an outstanding reference source to this exciting and distinctive subject area and is the first volume of its kind. Comprising thirty-six chapters by an international team of contributors, the Handbook provides a comprehensive overview of the field and is divided into five parts:
- Foundational Matters
- Practical Reason in the History of Philosophy
- Philosophy of Practical Reason as Action Theory and Moral Psychology
- Philosophy of Practical Reason as Theory of Practical Normativity
- The Philosophy of Practical Reason as the Theory of Practical Rationality
The Handbook also includes two chapters by the late Derek Parfit, ‘Objectivism about Reasons’ and ‘Normative Non-Naturalism.’
The Routledge Handbook of Practical Reason is essential reading for philosophy students and researchers in metaethics, philosophy of action, action theory, ethics, and the history of philosophy.
Table of Contents:
An introduction to the philosophy of practical reason Kurt Sylvan and Ruth Chang Part 1: Foundational matters 1. Some central questions about practical reason T. M. Scanlon 2. Practical reason: rationality or normativity but not both John Broome 3. Can reason be practical? narrow and board conceptions and capacities Peter Railton 4. Practical reason and social practices Sally Haslanger 5. How to be a pragmatist Elizabeth Anderson 6. What is it to be a rational agent? Ruth Chang Part 2: Practical reason in the history of philosophy 7. Practical reasoning in early Chinese philosophy David B. Wong 8. Aristotle on deliberation Agnes Callard 9. Hume’s robust theory of practical reason Geoffrey Sayre-McCord 10. Kant’s approach to the theory of human agency Tamar Schapiro 11. Anscombe on acting for reasons Keshav Singh Part 3: Philosophy of practical reason as action theory and moral psychology 12. Three dogmas of agency theory Nomy Arpaly 13. Some reflections on the relationship between reason and the will Sarah Buss 14. Three for the price of two Jonathan Dancy 15. The guise of the good Sergio Tenenbaum 16. Motivational internalism and externalism Connie S. Rosati 17. Emotions in practical reasoning Patricia Greenspan 18. Psychopathy, agency, and practical reason Monique Wonderly 19. Practical reason and social science research Valerie Tiberius and Natalia Washington Part 4: The philosophy of practical reason as the theory of practical normativity Section 1: The nature and grounds of normative practical reasons 20. Objectivism about reasons Derek Parfit (edited by Ruth Chang) 21. How to be a subjectivist David Sobel 22. Kantian constructivism Julia Markovits and Kenny Walden 23. Constitutivism: on rabbits, hats, and holy grails David Enoch 24. Reasoning first Pamela Hieronymi 25. Normative nonnaturalism Derek Parfit (edited by Ruth Chang) Section 2: Some substantive matters 26. Non-requiring reasons Margaret Olivia Little and Coleen Macnamara 27. Requirements of reason R. Jay Wallace 28. Normative pluralism and skepticism about ‘ought simpliciter’ David Copp 29. There is no moral ought and no prudential ought Elizabeth Harman 30. Practical reason and the second-person standpoint Stephen Darwall Part 5: The philosophy of practical reason as the theory of practical rationality 31. The normativity of rationality Errol Lord 32. The eclipse of instrumental rationality Kurt Sylvan 33. Rationality, regret, and choice over time Chrisoula Andreou 34. Plan rationality Michael E. Bratman 35. Between sophistication and resolution – wise choice Wlodek Rabinowicz 36. The norms of practical reasoning Jennifer M. Morton and Sarah K. Paul. Appendix: a guide to further reading Index
About the Author :
Ruth Chang is Chair and Professor of Jurisprudence at the University of Oxford and Professorial Fellow at University College, Oxford, UK.
Kurt Sylvan is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Southampton, UK.
Review :
'This volume boasts a very impressive list of distinguished contributors. It is well-organized and covers a wide range of topics central to contemporary work on practical reason. The chapters manage to simultaneously introduce topics in ways that would be accessible to beginning graduate students while also advancing the debate in ways that make the volume essential reading for specialists working in this area.' - John Brunero, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, USA
