The action-guidingness of rational principles and the problem of our own imperfections

Mayr E (2023)


Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2023

Journal

Book Volume: 11

Pages Range: 127-141

Journal Issue: 1

DOI: 10.4454/philinq.v11i1.446

Abstract

The following comment discusses the supposedly action-guiding role of rational principles and the question to what extent our imperfections as human agents should influence what these principles are. According to Sergio Tenenbaum, the principles of instrumental rationality (as stated in his theory) are meant to be action-guiding rather than merely evaluative. In the first part of the comment, I look at how this action-guiding role is to be understood, especially when it comes to the pursuit of long-term, indeterminate ends. The second part of the comment raises the question of whether the principles included in Tenenbaum’s Extended Theory of Rationality should be supplemented by principles for dealing with our own imperfections. I consider two possible sources for such further prin-ciples: the risk that we will behave irrationally later on and uncertainty about the effective-ness of the means we take.

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How to cite

APA:

Mayr, E. (2023). The action-guidingness of rational principles and the problem of our own imperfections. Philosophical Inquiries, 11(1), 127-141. https://doi.org/10.4454/philinq.v11i1.446

MLA:

Mayr, Erasmus. "The action-guidingness of rational principles and the problem of our own imperfections." Philosophical Inquiries 11.1 (2023): 127-141.

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