Practical Reality
Published on 3. August 2000
Book
Hardback
200 pages
978-0-19-824115-7 (ISBN)
Description
Practical Reality is about the relation between the reason why we do things and the reasons why we should. It maintains that current philosophical orthodoxy bowdlerises this relation, making it impossible to understand how anyone can act for a good reason.
In order to understand this, Dancy claims, we have to abandon current conceptions of the reasons why we act (our motivating reasons) as mental states of ourselves. Belief/desire explanations of action, or purely cognitive accounts in terms of beliefs alone, drive too great a wedge between the normative and the motivational. Instead, we have to understand a motivating reason as the sort of thing that could be a good reason: for instance, that the train is about to leave this, rather than my belief that the train is about to leave, must be my reason for running.
Most contemporary philosophers think that this view cannot be true. Dancy aims to demonstrate that things can be as he thinks they must be. By giving a fresh account of values and reasons, he finds a place for normativity in philosophy of mind and action, and strengthens the connection between these areas and ethics.
In order to understand this, Dancy claims, we have to abandon current conceptions of the reasons why we act (our motivating reasons) as mental states of ourselves. Belief/desire explanations of action, or purely cognitive accounts in terms of beliefs alone, drive too great a wedge between the normative and the motivational. Instead, we have to understand a motivating reason as the sort of thing that could be a good reason: for instance, that the train is about to leave this, rather than my belief that the train is about to leave, must be my reason for running.
Most contemporary philosophers think that this view cannot be true. Dancy aims to demonstrate that things can be as he thinks they must be. By giving a fresh account of values and reasons, he finds a place for normativity in philosophy of mind and action, and strengthens the connection between these areas and ethics.
Reviews / Votes
Practical Reality is a philosophically rich, densely argued, and (not coincidentally) blessedly short book ... while Dancy has wisely chosen to segregate in appendices some of his text that is not crucial to his line of argument, it would be unwise for readers to pass these over. They are very interesting indeed. * The Review of Metaphysics *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 222 mm
Width: 145 mm
Thickness: 14 mm
Weight
390 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-824115-7 (9780198241157)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Jonathan Dancy
Practical Reality
Book
08/2002
Oxford University Press
€73.40
Shipment within 15-20 days
Person
Jonathan Dancy is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Reading.
Content
CONTENTS; 1. REASONS FOR ACTION; 2. REASONS AND DESIRES; 3. REASONS AND BELIEFS; 4. THE THEORY OF MOTIVATING STATES; 5. ACTING FOR A GOOD REASON; 6. AS I BELIEVE; 7.CONSEQUENTIAL MATTERS; 8. HOW MANY EXPLANATIONS?; BIBLIOGRAPHY; INDEX.