Good things to do : practical reason without obligation / Rüdiger Bittner.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bittner, Rüdiger, 1945- author.

Series:

Oxford scholarship online.

Oxford scholarship online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Practical reason.

Ethics.

Act (Philosophy).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (225 pages)

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2023.

Summary:

Rüdiger Bittner argues that the aim of thinking about what to do, of practical reason, is to find, not what we ought to do, but what it is good to do under the circumstances. Neither under prudence nor under morality are there things we ought to do. There is no warrant for the idea of our being required, by natural law or by our rationality, to do either what helps us attain our ends or what is right for moral reasons. While common moral understanding is committed to there being things we ought to do and to our being guilty and deserving blame if we fail to do them, we can lay aside these notions without loss, indeed with benefit. The volume also explains what it is for something to be good to do under the circumstances and argues for understanding practical reason in these terms.

Contents:

Practical reason and what we ought to do

Prudence and what we ought to do

Morality and what we ought to do

Practical reason is about good things for somebody to do

Reasons in favour

Objections

How to find out what are good things for one to do.

Notes:

Also issued in print: 2023.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from home page (viewed on June 26, 2023).

Other Format:

Print version: Bittner, Rüdiger Good Things to Do

ISBN:

0-19-768111-5

0-19-768109-3

0-19-768110-7