Practical Shape
A Theory of Practical Reasoning
Published on 25. June 2020
Book
Paperback/Softback
224 pages
978-0-19-886582-7 (ISBN)
Description
Everyone allows that we can reason to a new belief from beliefs that we already have. Aristotle thought that we could also reason from beliefs to action. Practical Shape: A Theory of Practical Reasoning establishes this possibility of reasoning to action, in a way that allows also for reasoning to intention, hope, fear, and doubt. While many philosophers have found little sense in Aristotle's claim, Dancy offers a general theory of reasoning that is sensitive to current debates but still Aristotelian in spirit. The text clearly sets out the similarities between reasoning to action and reasoning to belief, which are far more striking than any dissimilarities. Its detailed account of practical reasoning, a topic inadequately covered in current literature, is presented in such a way as to be intelligible to a variety of readers, making it an ideal resource for students of philosophy but also of interest to academics in related disciplines.
Reviews / Votes
...Practical Shape is as stimulating a book of philosophy as one could hope for. It will be an invaluable resource to those interested in the nature of reasoning, both practical and theoretical, for years to come. * Laura Tomlinson, Journal of Moral Philosophy * Review from previous edition 'Dancy's book offers an attractive outline of his conception of practical reasoning . . . engagingly personal in style, and full of thoughtful and interesting material' * John Hyman, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews * 'an important contribution . . . the first sustained defence of a highly natural and attractive view, on which reasoning is essentially a matter of responding to reasons. . . . Above all, it is consistently stimulating: full of observations, suggestions, and arguments which are well worth pausing over.' * Jonathan Way, Ethics * 'He writes with a lucidity and economy that illuminate rather than complicate. . . . His book is at once reminiscent and prescient, and the reflective reader, unexhausted by its 185 pages, is well placed to owe it yet more than what he has read out of it. . . . this is a book with a future.' * Anthony Price, Mind *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 214 mm
Width: 141 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
256 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-886582-7 (9780198865827)
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
Person
Jonathan Dancy has worked at the University of Texas at Austin since 2005. He previously taught at the University of Keele for 25 years and then at the University of Reading before retiring in the UK in 2011. His books include Practical Reality (2000) and Ethics Without Principles (2004).
Content
Introduction
1: What Is the (Supposed) Problem about Practical Reasoning?
2: How Practical Reasoning is Possible
3: The Material Theory of Practical Reasoning
4: From the Practical to the Theoretical
5: Moral Reasoning
6: Taking Stock
7: Instrumental Reasoning
8: Reasoning to Normative Belief
9: Reasoning to Intention
10: Loose Ends
1: What Is the (Supposed) Problem about Practical Reasoning?
2: How Practical Reasoning is Possible
3: The Material Theory of Practical Reasoning
4: From the Practical to the Theoretical
5: Moral Reasoning
6: Taking Stock
7: Instrumental Reasoning
8: Reasoning to Normative Belief
9: Reasoning to Intention
10: Loose Ends