Practical Rationality and Preference: Essays for David Gauthier

by Edited by Christopher W. Morris , Arthur Ripstein

• ISBN13: 9780521781848
• ISBN10: 0521781841
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-07-16
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

What are preferences and are they reasons for action? Is it rational to cooperate with others even if that entails acting against one's preferences? The dominant position in philosophy on the topic of practical rationality is that one acts so as to maximize the satisfaction of one's preferences. This view is most closely associated with the work of David Gauthier, and in this new collection of essays some of the most innovative philosophers currently working in this field explore the controversies surrounding Gauthier's position. Several essays argue against influential conceptions of preference, while others suggest that received conceptions of rational action misidentify the normative significance of rules and practices. This collection will be of particular interest to philosophers of social theory and to reflective social scientists in such fields as economics, political science and psychology.

Table of Contents

List of Contributors	vii
Practical Reason and Preference	1	(10)
Christopher W. Morris
Arthur Ripstein
What Do Expressions of Preference Express?	11	(26)
Robert Brandom
Preference	37	(19)
Arthur Ripstein
Rational Temptation	56	(25)
Claire Finkelstein
Bombs and Coconuts, or Rational Irrationality	81	(17)
Derek Parfit
Are Intentions Reasons? And How Should We Cope with Incommensurable Values?	98	(23)
John Broome
Two Forms of Practical Generality	121	(32)
Michael Thompson
Psychology for Cooperators	153	(20)
Adam Morton
Which Games Should Constrained Maximizers Play?	173	(16)
Peter Danielson
The Strategy of Cooperation	189	(20)
Edward F. McClennen
We Were Never in Paradise	209
Candace Vogler