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18The Expected, the Contra-Expected, the Supererogatory, and the SuberogatoryIn David Heyd (ed.), Handbook of Supererogation, Springer Nature Singapore. pp. 119-130. 2023.This chapter defends the claim that the space of human actions is really partitionable into five non-overlapping deontic categories: the three commonly recognized ones (the obligatory, the impermissible or wrong, and the optional), plus two additional ones labeled the expected and the contra-expected. These latter categories are typically not recognized in ethical theorizing but nonetheless they are part of everyday moral experience. The defense of these additional deontic categories appeals, vi…Read more
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53Act utilitarianism and the moral fanaticism argumentPhilosophical Studies 46 (2). 1984.One apparently devastating criticism of a whole range of act utilitarian (au) principles is marcus singer's claim that such principles are open to the charge of moral fanaticism, I.E., They commit one to the view that "no action is indifferent or trivial, Every occasion is momentous." this moral fanaticism argument (mfa) is examined in detail. I argue that the mfa is not all that devastating; indeed the act utilitarian can altogether escape the charge of being a fanatic
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65Routledge Handbook on Moral Epistemology (edited book)Routledge. 2018.The Routledge Handbook of Moral Epistemology brings together philosophers, cognitive scientists, developmental and evolutionary psychologists, animal ethologists, intellectual historians, and educators to provide the most comprehensive analysis of the prospects for moral knowledge ever assembled in print. The book’s thirty chapters feature leading experts describing the nature of moral thought, its evolution, childhood development, and neurological realization. Various forms of moral skepticism …Read more
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3Kant's Theory of Moral Motivation: The Construction of a Rationalist InternalismDissertation, The University of Nebraska - Lincoln. 1982.My aim in this work is to consider Kant's ethical theory against the background of the main traditions in ethics which Kant opposed, especially ethical empiricism. I argue that the central issue that divided Kant and the opposed traditions concerns moral motivation. As Kant characterized ethical empiricism, and in general all opposed ethical theories, such theories adopted an Aristotelian view of human motivation according to which all action is based on desires. Kant argued that such ethical th…Read more
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275Untying a Knot From the Inside Out: Reflections on the “Paradox” of SupererogationSocial Philosophy and Policy 27 (2): 29-63. 2010.In his 1958 seminal paper “Saints and Heroes”, J. O. Urmson argued that the then dominant tripartite deontic scheme of classifying actions as being exclusively either obligatory, or optional in the sense of being morally indifferent, or wrong, ought to be expanded to include the category of the supererogatory. Colloquially, this category includes actions that are “beyond the call of duty” (beyond what is obligatory) and hence actions that one has no duty or obligation to perform. But it is a con…Read more
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22Review of Michael R. DePaul: Balance and Refinement: Beyond Coherence Methods of Moral Inquiry (review)Ethics 105 (3): 651-653. 1995.
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12The Perfect Duty to Oneself as an Animal BeingIn Andreas Trampota, Oliver Sensen & Jens Timmermann (eds.), Kant’s “Tugendlehre”. A Comprehensive Commentary, Walter De Gruyter. pp. 221-244. 2013.
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What does moral phenomenology tell us about moral objectivity?In Ellen Frankel Paul, Fred Dycus Miller & Jeffrey Paul (eds.), Objectivism, subjectivism, and relativism in ethics, Cambridge University Press. 2008.
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Expressivism and contrary-forming negationIn Ernest Sosa & Enrique Villanueva (eds.), Metaethics, Wiley Periodicals. 2009.
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28Making Sense of Kant’s Formula of Universal Law: On Kleingeld’s Volitional Self-Contradiction InterpretationPhilosophia 51 (2): 463-475. 2023.This article examines Pauline Kleingeld’s “volitional self-contradiction” (VSC) interpretation of Kant’s formula of universal law. It begins in §1 with an outline of Kleingeld’s interpretation and then proceeds in §2 to raise some worries about how the interpretation handles Kant’s egoism example. §3 considers VSC’s handling of the false promise example comparing it in §4 with the Logical/Causal Law (LCL) interpretation, which arguably does better than its VSC competitor in handling this example…Read more
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11Is Agentive Freedom a Secondary Quality?Humana Mente 15 (42). 2022.The notion of a secondary property is usefully construed this way: sensory-perceptual experiences that present apparent instantiations of such a quality have intentional content—presentational content—that is systematically non-veridical, because the experientially presented quality is never actually instantiated; but judgments that naively seem to attribute instantiations of this very quality really have different content—judgmental content—that is often veridical. Color-presenting experiences …Read more
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12Knowledge, nature, and normsWadsworth, Cengage Learning. 2014.Find everything you need for a solid introduction to philosophy with this brief, powerful text. One of the most concise introductory philosophy anthologies available, KNOWLEDGE, NATURE, AND NORMS: AN INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY, Second Edition features classical philosophy readings, short fiction, and literature from popular writers, as well as a wealth of effective learning tools. Concise, well-edited selections are designed to give first-time philosophy students what you need to succeed--a well…Read more
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The phenomenology of moral deliberation and the non-naturalistic fallacyIn Neil Sinclair (ed.), The Naturalistic Fallacy, Cambridge University Press. 2018.
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24Kant's Doctrine of VirtueOxford University Press. 2021.Immanuel Kant's final publication in ethics was The Doctrine of Virtue, Part II of the 1797 The Metaphysics of Morals. This text presents Kant's normative ethical theory. This guide is meant to be read alongside Kant's text, combining accessible explanations and novel interpretations of this difficult text. It is the first book in English devoted to The Doctrine of Virtue, one of Kant's most significant works. Timmons divides the guide into five parts. Part I reviews Kant's life, the history and…Read more
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25Guest Editors’ Introduction: Special Issue “Moral Phenomenology and Moral Philosophy”Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 25 (1): 1-3. 2022.
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78Expressing Gratitude as What’s Morally Expected: A Phenomenological ApproachEthical Theory and Moral Practice 25 (1): 139-155. 2022.This paper addresses an alleged paradox regarding gratitude—that a duty of gratitude is odd or puzzling if not paradoxical. The gist of our position is that in prototypical cases, gratitude expression falls under a distinctive deontic category we call morally expected—which has a corresponding contrary deontic category we call morally offensive. These categories, we maintain, need recognition in normative ethics to make proper sense of the moral status of gratitude expression and other morally c…Read more
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8Oxford Studies in Normative Ethics Volume 10 (edited book)Oxford University Press. 2020.OSNE is an annual forum for new work in normative ethical theory. Leading philosophers advance our understanding of a wide range of moral issues and positions, from analysis of competing normative theories to questions of how we should act and live well. OSNE will be an essential resource for scholars and students working in moral philosophy.
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36The Kantian Mind (edited book)Routledge. 2024.The Kantian Mind is an outstanding guide and reference source to Kant's thought and essential reading for all students and scholars of Kant and contemporary Kantian thought.
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18Oxford Studies in Normative Ethics Volume 10 (edited book)Oxford University Press, Usa. 2020.OSNE is an annual forum for new work in normative ethical theory. Leading philosophers advance our understanding of a wide range of moral issues and positions, from analysis of competing normative theories to questions of how we should act and live well. OSNE will be an essential resource for scholars and students working in moral philosophy.
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44Moral Realism: A Defense (review)Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 74 (1): 265-269. 2007.
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337Review of Thomas E. Hill: Dignity and practical reason in Kant's moral theory (review)Ethics 104 (2): 398-400. 1994.ıhk.
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10Oxford Studies in Normative Ethics Volume 9 (edited book)Oxford University Press. 2019.OSNE is an annual forum for new work in normative ethical theory. Leading philosophers advance our understanding of a wide range of moral issues and positions, from analysis of competing normative theories to questions of how we should act and live well. OSNE will be an essential resource for scholars and students working in moral philosophy.
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20Amor pela honra, emulação, e a psicologia dos vícios diabólicosDissertatio 41 (S2): 119-151. 2015.Nos últimos anos, muito foi escrito a respeito das virtudes e das virtudes particulares expostas na ética de Kant, concentrando-se em particular no Tugendlehre, parte II da Metafísica da Moral. Menos atenção foi dada ao que Kant tem a dizer sobre os vícios e sobre os vícios particulares. A própria discussão de Kant a respeito dos vícios escolhidos no Tugendlehre é bastante breve, pontuada por observações a respeito das fontes psicológicas de traços de caráter viciosos. Em contraste, o que encont…Read more
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Ethics and Practical Reason (review)Review of Metaphysics 53 (2): 440-441. 1999.Ethics and Practical Reason, edited by Garrett Cullity and Berys Gaut, contains thirteen essays, most of which were presented at a conference at the University of St. Andrews, March 23–6, 1995. The essays are preceded by the editors’ introduction in which they nicely set up the collection by explaining the dialectic among competing Aristotelian, Humean, and Kantian accounts of the nature of practical reasoning, particularly in relation to ethical reasoning. What follows is but a glimpse of the v…Read more
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71Oxford Studies in Normative Ethics (edited book)Oxford University Press. 2011.Oxford Studies in Normative Ethics is an annual forum for new work in normative ethical theory.
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6Oxford Studies in Normative Ethics Volume 8 (edited book)Oxford University Press. 2018.OSNE is an annual forum for new work in normative ethical theory. Leading philosophers advance our understanding of a wide range of moral issues and positions, from analysis of competing normative theories to questions of how we should act and live well. OSNE will be an essential resource for scholars and students working in moral philosophy.
Tucson, Arizona, United States of America
Areas of Interest
Meta-Ethics |
Epistemology |
Normative Ethics |