Abstract

Michael Bratman’s new book is a very good piece of work. Clearly written, philosophically sophisticated, and admirably fair to contrary points of view, it is worthy of both attentive study and careful critique. Its first sentence, “We are planning agents”, states its theme, which is developed in thirteen previously published papers plus an introduction. The first paper examines the difference between believing a claim and merely accepting it for some reason, while the next two discuss the stability intentions must have to fulfill their function, the main issue being whether it would be reasonable to change an intention even if nothing has changed since we formed it, Bratman’s aim being to articulate principles of rationality which would apply regardless of our ends or conceptions of the good.