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963The groundless normativity of instrumental rationalityJournal of Philosophy 98 (9): 445-468. 2001.Neo-Humean instrumentalist theories of reasons for acting have been presented with a dilemma: either they are normatively trivial and, hence, inadequate as a normative theory or they covertly commit themselves to a noninstrumentalist normative principle. The claimed result is that no purely instrumentalist theory of reasons for acting can be normatively adequate. This dilemma dissolves when we understand what question neo-Humean instrumentalists are addressing. The dilemma presupposes that neo-H…Read more
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714Prudential ReasonsCanadian Journal of Philosophy 10 (1). 1980.Several authors, including Thomas Nagel and David Gauthier, have defended the view that reasons of self-interest (prudential reasons) are rationally binding. That is, there is always a reason, bearing on the rational advisability, based on one's self-interest and, as a result, a person may act irrationally by knowingly acting against such reasons regardless of the person's desires or values. Both Nagel and Gauthier argue from the rationally mandatory nature of prudential reasons to the conclusio…Read more
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4197Irrational desiresPhilosophical Studies 62 (1). 1991.Many believe that the rational evaluation of actions depends on the rational evaluation of even basic desires. Hume, though, viewed desires as "original existences" which cannot be contrary to either truth or reason. Contemporary critics of Hume, including Norman, Brandt and Parfit, have sought a basis for the rational evaluation of desires that would deny some basic desires reason-giving force. I side with Hume against these modern critics. Hume's concept of rational evaluation is admittedly to…Read more
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30Review: Of Bindings and By-Products: Elster on Rationality (review)Philosophy and Public Affairs 15 (1). 1986.
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19Non-tuismCanadian Journal of Philosophy 21 (4): 441-468. 1991.in Morals by Agreement, David Gauthier assumes that the contractors' preferences are non-tuistic--that they take "no interest in one another's interests." This is the analog of John Rawls's assumption of "mutual disinterest." Gauthier's assumption of non-tuism is ambiguous in important ways and he sometimes shifts between quite distinct meanings. I examine the various plausible interpretations of non-tuism and then critically evaluate Gauthier's justification for assuming that it is only agents'…Read more
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29FatherhoodIn Hugh LaFollette (ed.), The International Encyclopedia of Ethics, Blackwell. 2013.Surveys theories of paternity/fatherhood.
Columbus, Ohio, United States of America
Areas of Specialization
Practical Reason, Misc |
Reasons |
Moral Reasoning and Motivation |
Family Ethics |
Parenthood |