NEIL SINCLAIR neil.sinclair@nottingham.ac.uk
Professor of Philosophy
On the connection between normative reasons and the possibility of acting for those reasons
Sinclair, Neil
Authors
Abstract
According to Bernard Williams, if it is true that A has a normative reason to Φ then it must be possible that A should Φ for that reason. This claim is important both because it restricts the range of reasons which agents can have and because it has been used as a premise in an argument for so-called ‘internalist’ theories of reasons. In this paper I rebut an apparent counterexamples to Williams’ claim: Schroeder’s (2007) example of Nate. I argue that this counterexample fails since it underestimates the range of cases where agents can act for their normative reasons. Moreover, I argue that a key motivation behind Williams’ claim is compatible with this ‘expansive’ account of what it is to act for a normative reason.
Citation
Sinclair, N. (in press). On the connection between normative reasons and the possibility of acting for those reasons. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, 19(5), https://doi.org/10.1007/s10677-016-9731-8
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Acceptance Date | Apr 29, 2016 |
Online Publication Date | May 8, 2016 |
Deposit Date | May 18, 2016 |
Publicly Available Date | Mar 29, 2024 |
Journal | Ethical Theory and Moral Practice |
Print ISSN | 1386-2820 |
Electronic ISSN | 1572-8447 |
Publisher | Springer Verlag |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 19 |
Issue | 5 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1007/s10677-016-9731-8 |
Keywords | Action; normative reason; practical deliberation; reasons internalism; Schroeder Williams |
Public URL | https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/790895 |
Publisher URL | http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10677-016-9731-8 |
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Copyright information regarding this work can be found at the following address: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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