• King's College London
    Department of Philosophy
    Dickson Poon School of Law, King's College London
    Unknown
University of London
Department of Philosophy
PhD, 1987
London, London, City of, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
  •  24
    An Analysis of Reliance
    Journal of Philosophical Research 42 203-221. 2017.
    Reliance is ubiquitous, and is important socially, normatively and philosophically. This paper offers an account of reliance as a four-place relation among agent A, A’s action of φing, A’s goal P, and the object of reliance Q. I propose, amplify and defend this analysis of action in reliance: A, in φing, relies, for P, on Q if and only if: A φs; A’s goal is P; A by φing achieves P only if q; A believes that ; A believes that q; and because.
  •  16
    An Analysis of Reliance
    Journal of Philosophical Research 42 203-221. 2017.
    Reliance is ubiquitous, and is important socially, normatively and philosophically. This paper offers an account of reliance as a four-place relation among agent A, A’s action of φing, A’s goal P, and the object of reliance Q. I propose, amplify and defend this analysis of action in reliance: A, in φing, relies, for P, on Q if and only if: (1) A φs; (2) A’s goal is P; (3) A by φing achieves P only if q; (4) A believes that (3); (5) A believes that q; and (6) (1) because.
  •  49
    Agreements, undertakings, and practical reason
    Legal Theory 10 (2): 77-95. 2004.
    This paper argues for two models of agreement which develop the idea that there is an agreement where one party gives a conditional undertaking and the other responds with an unconditional undertaking. The models accommodate plausible justifications for making and complying with agreements.
  •  64
    Ethics, identity and the boundaries of the person
    Philosophical Explorations 6 (2). 2003.
    Ethical theories and theories of the person constrain each other, in that a proposition about the person may be a reason for or against an ethical proposition, and conversely. An important class of such propositions about the person concern the boundaries of the person. These boundaries enclose a person 's defining properties, which constitute his identity. A person 's identity may partly determine and partly be determined by his ethical judgments. An equilibrium between one's identity and one's…Read more
  •  30
    Reliance and Obligation
    Ratio Juris 17 (3): 269-284. 2004.
    The fact that A has relied on B to do something is often taken to be a relevant factor in judging that B has a moral or legal obligation to do that thing. This paper investigates the relation between reliance and obligation. Specifically, the question is whether reliance and moral obligation are connected by some relation of conditionality. I consider four such relations - necessary condition, sufficient condition, necessary part of a sufficient condition, and independent necessary part of a …Read more
  •  10
    Conceptual Foundations of Antitrust
    Cambridge University Press. 2005.
    This is a philosophical study of concepts that lie at the foundation of antitrust - a body of law and policy designed to promote or protect economic competition. Topics covered are: the nature of competition; the relation between competition and welfare; the distinction between per se rules and rules of reason; agreements; concerted practices; and the spectrum from independent action to collusion. Although there are many legal and economic books on antitrust, this is the first book devoted to th…Read more
  •  252
    This paper explains what an infinite regress argument is. Part 1 contains some examples of infinite regress arguments. Part 2 presents a schema for all such arguments an defines an infinite regress argument as one that approximates to the schema. Part 3 tests the schema on the examples. Part 4 contrasts my account of infinite regress arguments with that given by Passmore and shows that Passmore's theory succumbs to objections. Part 5 distinguishes an infinite regress argument from an infini…Read more
  •  23
    Two theories of agreement
    Legal Theory 13 (1): 1-22. 2007.
    Philosophers have been attracted by the theory that an agreement consists of undertakings by the parties. But the theory faces objections from three sides: unconditional undertakings by both parties are insufficient for an agreement; if the parties give interconditional undertakings, both comply if neither does anything; and, if one party gives an unconditional undertaking and the other a conditional one, a condition of interdependence is breached. The options are to live with the breach, to p…Read more
  •  42
    A popular view is that we create our own identities and values. An attractive version of this is the thesis that the creation of values follows from the creation of identities. The thesis is best supported by a conception of identity in terms of projects and a conception of values that are internal to projects: in creating my projects, I create values internal to them; so I create those values. This paper argues that the thesis faces a dilemma: it is either true but uninteresting or interesti…Read more
  •  694
    Infinite Regresses of Justification
    International Philosophical Quarterly 28 (4): 421-437. 1988.
    This paper uses a schema for infinite regress arguments to provide a solution to the problem of the infinite regress of justification. The solution turns on the falsity of two claims: that a belief is justified only if some belief is a reason for it, and that the reason relation is transitive.
  •  4
    Agreements: a philosophical and legal study
    Cambridge University Press. 2012.
    Promises -- Offer and acceptance -- Obligation -- Practical reason -- Intention and other topics -- Intervention by the state -- Contract -- Competition -- Conspiracy.
  •  20
    Ends, Desires, and Rationality
    International Philosophical Quarterly 34 (1): 75-88. 1994.
    An end-desire is a desire for something for itself. This paper argues that such desires are subject to rational criticism.
  •  320
    Legal validity and the infinite regress
    Law and Philosophy 15 (4). 1996.
    The following four theses all have some intuitive appeal: (I) There are valid norms. (II) A norm is valid only if justified by a valid norm. (III) Justification, on the class of norms, has an irreflexive proper ancestral. (IV) There is no infinite sequence of valid norms each of which is justified by its successor. However, at least one must be false, for (I)--(III) together entail the denial of (IV). There is thus a conflict between intuition and logical possibility. This paper, after distingui…Read more