•  4
    Self Governance and Cooperation
    Oxford University Press UK. 1999.
    Robert Myers presents an original moral theory which charts a course between the extremes of consequentialism and contractualism. He puts forward a radically new case for the existence of both agent-neutral and agent-relative values, and gives an innovative answer to the question how such disparate values can be weighed against each other. Practical judgement is shown to be guided in this by two very different ideals: an ideal of cooperation, which is held to shape the content of morality's dema…Read more
  •  23
    According to many commentators, Davidson’s earlier work on philosophy of action and truth-theoretic semantics is the basis for his reputation, and his later forays into broader metaphysical and epistemological issues, and eventually into what became known as the triangulation argument, are much less successful. This book by two of his former students aims to change that perception. In Part One, Verheggen begins by providing an explanation and defense of the triangulation argument, then explores …Read more
  •  11
    Donald Davidson on Action, Mind and Value (edited book)
    with Syraya Chin-Mu Yang
    Springer. 2020.
    This book brings together a wide range of innovative reflections on the pivotal role that Davidson’s concept of agency plays in his later philosophy and its impact on his epistemology, his philosophy of language and mind, and his philosophy of values. The authors critically assess central elements of Davidson’s program and offer reappraisals of his seminal contributions to, and his continuing influence on, the development of contemporary philosophy. By focusing on agency, the book reveals Davids…Read more
  •  18
    Reply to Anton Leist: Keeping Constructivism in Its Place
    Analyse & Kritik 33 (1): 149-153. 2011.
    Leist worries that by tying the ideal of cooperation to the aim of promoting the good I exhibit a bias towards consequentialism, and that this in turn leads me to downsize the role to be played by the ideal of cooperation within moral theory. I maintain that no bias is exhibited towards consequentialism but acknowledge that realism is being favoured over constructivism. I further argue that the role assigned to the ideal of cooperation is as large as realism permits
  • A Self-Interest Theory of Reasons for Action
    Dissertation, University of California, Berkeley. 1989.
    In my dissertation, I develop and defend a normative theory of reasons for action, then discuss its implications for some questions about the nature and importance of the reasons that people have to act morally. ;The theory that I develop is a sort of self-interest theory, for it says that a person has some reason to perform an action in so far as, and only in so far as, she can optimize the satisfaction of her own interests over time by performing that action. It is a self-interest theory of an…Read more
  •  58
    Finding Value in Davidson
    Canadian Journal of Philosophy 34 (1). 2004.
    Can an effective argument against scepticism about objective values be modelled on Donald Davidson’s familiar argument against scepticism about external things?
  •  31
    Self-governance and cooperation
    Oxford University Press. 1999.
    Robert Myers presents an original moral theory which charts a course between the extremes of consequentialism and contractualism. He puts forward a radically new case for the existence of both agent-neutral and agent-relative values, and gives an innovative answer to the question how such disparate values can be weighed against each other. The result is a theory of morality which combines a balanced account of its content with a ringing affirmation of its authority.
  • Self-Governance & Cooperation
    Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 66 (2): 498-501. 2003.
    Robert Myers presents an original moral theory which charts a course between the extremes of consequentialism and contractualism, portraying morality not simply as a matter of promoting the overall good but rather as a matter of cooperating in its promotion. This gives him answers to two of the most vexing questions in moral philosophy: how can increasing general welfare and respecting individual rights be equally fundamental features of moral activity, and what gives morality's demands their sp…Read more