Some of the most challenging questions in philosophical ethics concern the justification of action. Can you have reasons to do something that you are t, and perhaps cant be, motivated to do? If reasons rest on desires, why respect the rights and interests of others when doing so prevents us from getting what we want? In other words, why be moral? In his 1979 essay, Internal and External Reasons, Bernard Williams framed the dispute about reason and motivation in a way that captured the philosophical imagination. An explosion of work on reasons and action followed, with influential responses by Christine Korsgaard, John McDowell, and Michael Smith. This volume collects the most important work on the topic, including Williams's seminal essay, the responses by Korsgaard, McDowell, and Smith, and more recent contributions by central figures. Taken together, the selections offer a comprehensive survey of state-of-the-art work on internal reasons and a distinctive, focused approach to foundational questions of ethical objectivity. A substantive introduction by Kieran Setiya skillfully guides the reader through the theoretical and conceptual terrain, explaining what is at stake in the larger debate.
Product Identifiers
Publisher
MIT Press, MIT Press Ltd
ISBN-10
0262516403
ISBN-13
9780262516402
eBay Product ID (ePID)
111505762
Product Key Features
Format
Trade Paperback (US), Paperback
Language
English
Subject
Philosophy
Dimensions
Weight
544g
Height
229mm
Width
152mm
Additional Product Features
Place of Publication
Cambridge, Mass.
Spine
17mm
Edited by
Kieran Setiya, Hille Paakkunainen
Series Title
Mit Readers in Contemporary Philosophy
Author Biography
Kieran Setiya is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh. Hille Paakkunainen is Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Syracuse University.