In search of instrumental rationality
| Abstract | of (from British Columbia Philosophy Graduate Conference) The accounts of instrumental rationality given in the last twenty years or so are so diverse that one wonders whether they are all attempting to explain the same phenomena. Versions of the so-called �instrumental principle� - what many philosophers have taken to be the core of idea of instrumental rationality - have ranged from being about merely the having or recognition of reasons, to one amounting to a first-order practical principle. I consider a number of these formulations and argue that all of them encounter difficult problems. As a result, not only do we not have a satisfactory account of the nature of instrumental rationality; we also lack a settled set of terms in which to formulate a better theory. | |||||||||
| Keywords | No keywords specified (fix it) | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,664 |
| External links |
  Try with proxy. |
| Through your library | Only published papers are available at libraries |
Similar books and articlesDanny Frederick (2013). Popper, Rationality and the Possibility of Social Science. THEORIA 28 (1):61-75.
Thomas Kelly (2007). Evidence and Normativity: Reply to Leite. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 75 (2):465–474.
Stephanie Beardman (2007). The Special Status of Instrumental Reasons. Philosophical Studies 134 (2):255 - 287.
Thomas Kelly (2003). Epistemic Rationality as Instrumental Rationality: A Critique. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 66 (3):612–640.
Michael Smith (2004). Instrumental Desires, Instrumental Rationality. Aristotelian Society Supplementary Volume 78 (1):93–109.
John Brunero (2005). Instrumental Rationality and Carroll's Tortoise. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 8 (5):557 - 569.
Michael Bratman (2009). Intention, Belief, and Instrumental Rationality. In David Sobel & Steven Wall (eds.), Reasons for Action. Cambridge University Press.
Bruno Verbeek (2001). Consequentialism, Rationality and the Relevant Description of Outcomes. Economics and Philosophy 17 (2):181-205.
Stephen Ellis (2008). The Varieties of Instrumental Rationality. Southern Journal of Philosophy 46 (2):199-220.
Ralph Wedgwood (2011). Instrumental Rationality. Oxford Studies in Metaethics 6:280-309.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2009-01-28Total downloads67 ( #13,216 of 549,005 )Recent downloads (6 months)6 ( #12,298 of 549,005 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
