| Reviews |
| - 'Reason and Nature
is a very nice collection of papers which succeeds in bringing together a variety of perspectives about reasoning. All of them are well written and worth study, and Bermúdez and Millar select very appropriate papers. . . . Still, it is a volume well worth reading by those interested in philosophical or cognitive scientific approaches to reasoning.
' - Notre Dame
Philosophical Reviews
|
| Description | | - A ground-breaking investigation of a key feature of human thought and action
- Looks at norms or standards of rationality and how these relate to the natural world
- Leading philosophers and psychologists approach problems of rationality from a range of perspectives
- Engages with issues as diverse as experimental psychology, ethics, and the philosophy of language
| Reason and Nature
investigates the normative dimension of reason and rationality and how it can be situated within the natural world. Nine philosophers and two psychologists address three main themes. The first concerns the status of norms of rationality and, in particular, how it is possible to show that norms we take to be objectively authoritative are so in fact. The second has to do
with the precise form taken by the norms of rationality. The third concerns the role of norms of rationality in the psychological explanation of belief and action. It is widely assumed that we use the normative principles of rationality as regulative principles governing psychological explanation. This seems to demand that there is a certain harmony between the norms of rationality and the
psychology of reasoning. What, then, should we make of the well-documented evidence suggesting that people consistently fail to reason well? And how can we extend the model to non-language-using creatures?
As this collection testifies, current work in the theory of rationality is subject to very diverse influences ranging from experimental and theoretical psychology, through philosophy of logic
and language, to metaethics and the theory of practical reasoning. This work is pursued in various philosophical styles and with various orientations. Straight-down-the-line analytical, and largely a priori, enquiry contrasts with empirically constrained theorizing. A focus on human rationality contrasts with a focus on rationality in the wider natural world. As things stand work in one style
often proceeds in isolation from work in others. If progress is to be made on rationality theorists will need to range widely. Reason and Nature
will provide a stimulus to that endeavour.
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Readership: Scholars and graduate students of philosophy; psychologists and cognitive scientists concerned with reasoning.
| Contents |
Introduction
,
Alan Millar and Jose Luis Bermudez
Part I: Objectivity and Normativity
1.
How are Objective Epistemic Reasons Possible?
,
Paul Boghossian
2.
On Basic Logical Knowledge: Reflections on Paul Boghossian's 'How are Objective Epistemic Reasons Possible?'
,
Crispin Wright
3.
Practical Reasoning
,
John Broome
4.
Reasons for Action and Instrumental Rationality
,
Alan Millar
Part II: Psychological Reality and Psychological Explanation
5.
The Rational Analysis of Human Cognition
,
Nick Chater and Mike Oaksford
6.
The Rational and the Real: Some Doubts About the Programme of Rational Analysis
,
E. J. Lowe
7.
The Rationality of Evolutionary Psychology
,
David Over
8.
Commitment and Change of View
,
Isaac Levi
9.
Rationality and Psychological Explanation Without Language
,
Jose Luis Bermudez
10.
Normative Explanations: Invoking Rationality to Explain Happenings
,
Allan Gibbard
|
| Authors, editors,
and contributors |
Edited by Jose Luis Bermudez and
Alan Millar, both Professors of Philosophy, University of Stirling
|
The specification in this catalogue, including without
limitation price, format, extent, number of illustrations,
and month of publication, was as accurate as
possible at the time the catalogue was compiled.
Occasionally, due to the nature of some contractual restrictions, we
are unable to ship a specific product to a particular territory.
Jacket images are provisional and liable to change before publication.
|
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