Right Practical Reason

Right Practical Reason
Author: Daniel Westberg
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 296
Release: 1994-09-08
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0191040517

This book is a study of the role of intellect in human action as described by Thomas Aquinas. One of its primary aims is to compare the interpretation of Aristotle by Aquinas with the lines of interpretation offered in contemporary Aristotelian scholarship. The book seeks to clarify the problems involved in the appropriation of Aristotle's theory by a Christian theologian, including such topics as the practical syllogism and the problems of akrasia. Professor Westberg argues that Aquinas was much closer to Aristotle than is often recognized; and he puts forward important new interpretations of the relation of intellect and will in the stages of intention, deliberation, decision, and execution. In the concluding section of the book, he shows how this new interpretation yields fruitful insights on a range of theological topics, including sin, law, love and the moral virtues.

Ethics Done Right

Ethics Done Right
Author: Elijah Millgram
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 370
Release: 2005-07-14
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9780521839433

Examines how practical reasoning can be put into the service of ethical and moral theory.

Aristotle on Practical Truth

Aristotle on Practical Truth
Author: Christiana M. M. Olfert
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2017
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0190281006

In Aristotle on Practical Truth, C.M.M. Olfert gives the first book-length treatment of Aristotle's notion of practical truth. The book covers the origins of practical truth in Plato's philosophy; practical truth's role in practical reasoning; its contributions to motivation and action; and its implications for ethical development.

Practical Reasoning and Ethical Decision

Practical Reasoning and Ethical Decision
Author: Robert Audi
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 215
Release: 2006-03-20
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1134219210

Presenting the most comprehensive and lucid account of the topic currently available, Robert Audi's "Practical Reasoning and Ethical Decision" is essential reading for anyone interested in the role of reason in ethics or the nature of human action. The first part of the book is a detailed critical overview of the influential theories of practical reasoning found in Aristotle, Hume and Kant, whilst the second part examines practical reasoning in the light of important topics in moral psychology - weakness of will, self-deception, rationalization and others. In the third part, Audi describes the role of moral principles in practical reasoning and clarifies the way practical reasoning underlies ethical decisions. He formulates a comprehensive set of concrete ethical principles, explains how they apply to reasoning about what to do, and shows how practical reasoning guides moral conduct.

Aristotle on the Scope of Practical Reason

Aristotle on the Scope of Practical Reason
Author: Pavlos Kontos
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 300
Release: 2021-06-10
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1000399095

This book offers a new account of Aristotle’s practical philosophy. Pavlos Kontos argues that Aristotle does not restrict practical reason to its action-guiding and motivational role; rather, practical reason remains practical in the full sense of the term even when its exercise does not immediately concern the guidance of our present actions. To elucidate why this wider scope of practical reason is important, Kontos brings into the foreground five protagonists that have long been overlooked: (a) spectators or judges who make non-motivational judgments about practical matters that do not interact with their present deliberations and actions; (b) legislators who exercise practical reason to establish constitutions and laws; (c) hopes as an active engagement with moral luck and its impact on our individual lives; (d) prayers as legislators’ way to deal with the moral luck hovering around the birth of constitutions and the prospect of a utopia; and (e) people who are outsiders or marginal cases of the responsibility community because they are totally deprived of practical reason. Building on a wide range of interpretations of Aristotle’s practical philosophy (from the ancient commentators to contemporary analytic and continental philosophers), Kontos offers new insights about Aristotle’s philosophical contribution to the current debates about radical evil, moral luck, hope, utopia, internalism and externalism, and the philosophy of law. Aristotle on the Scope of Practical Reason will appeal to researchers and advanced students interested in Aristotle’s ethics, ancient philosophy, and the history of practical philosophy.

Practical Reason in Law and Morality

Practical Reason in Law and Morality
Author: Neil MacCormick
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 235
Release: 2008-12-18
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0198268777

Incentives and reasons -- Values and human nature -- Right and wrong -- Questions of trust -- Autonomy and freedom -- Obedience, freedom, and engagement : or utility? -- Society, property, and commerce -- On justice -- Using freedom well -- Judging : legal cases and moral questions -- Practical reason, law, and state.

Varieties of Practical Reasoning

Varieties of Practical Reasoning
Author: Elijah Millgram
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 506
Release: 2001
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9780262632201

An overview of the philosophical subfield of practical reasoning.

Reasons, Rights, and Values

Reasons, Rights, and Values
Author: Robert Audi
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 313
Release: 2015-04-02
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1316300560

A central concern in recent ethical thinking is reasons for action and their relation to obligations, rights, and values. This collection of recent essays by Robert Audi presents an account of what reasons for action are, how they are related to obligation and rights, and how they figure in virtuous conduct. In addition, Audi reflects in his opening essay on his theory of reasons for action, his common-sense intuitionism, and his widely debated principles for balancing religion and politics. Reasons are shown to be basic elements in motivation, grounded in experience, and crucial for justifying actions and for understanding rights. Audi's clear and engaging essays make these advanced debates accessible to students as well as scholars, and this volume will be a valuable resource for readers interested in ethical theory, political theory, applied ethics, or philosophy of action.

The Routledge Handbook of Practical Reason

The Routledge Handbook of Practical Reason
Author: Ruth Chang
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 576
Release: 2020-12-29
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1000337065

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.

Practical Shape

Practical Shape
Author: Jonathan Dancy
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 217
Release: 2018-06-27
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0192528025

Everyone allows that we can reason to a new belief from beliefs that we already have. Aristotle thought that we could also reason from beliefs to action. Practical Shape: A Theory of Practical Reasoning establishes this possibility of reasoning to action, in a way that allows also for reasoning to intention, hope, fear, and doubt. While many philosophers have found little sense in Aristotle's claim, Dancy offers a general theory of reasoning that is sensitive to current debates but still Aristotelian in spirit. The text clearly sets out the similarities between reasoning to action and reasoning to belief, which are far more striking than any dissimilarities. Its detailed account of practical reasoning, a topic inadequately covered in current literature, is presented in such a way as to be intelligible to a variety of readers, making it an ideal resource for students of philosophy but also of interest to academics in related disciplines.