G. F. Schueler

The area of philosophy blandly labeled ‘practical reason’ is in reality something of a minefield of conflicting theories, problematic distinctions and difficult problems. There are Humean ‘desire-belief’ theories in conflict with Kantian views that deny the importance of desires. There are said to be important distinctions between internal and external reasons, and justifying and motivating reasons, as well as internalist and externalist accounts of reasons. And there are the problems of akrasia, and of the connection of rationality with freedom and autonomy, as well as the issue of whether morality can be grounded in reason. And this is only a sample.

The main purpose of this paper is to answer the question of how it is that a person who incites another to do something can be held morally responsible for this second person's acts. Professor bruce franklin's dismissal from stanford university is taken as the main example and it is argued that though those incited act 'because' of what the incitor does, This 'because' is not explainable on the standard models of physical causation, Coercion or hypnosis. It is closer to the truth to think of the incitor as arguing, To those incited, That they should perform some action.