Reason and Nature

Essays in the Theory of Rationality

Edited by José Luis Bermúdez and Alan Millar

Clarendon Press

Mind Association Occasional Series

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

Essays in the Theory of Rationality

Edited by José Luis Bermúdez and Alan Millar

Clarendon Press

Mind Association Occasional Series

Description

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.

Reason and Nature

Essays in the Theory of Rationality

Edited by José Luis Bermúdez and Alan Millar

Clarendon Press

Mind Association Occasional Series

Introduction, Alan Millar and José Luis Bermúdez
Part I: Objectivity and Normativity1: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 Explanation5: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, José Luis Bermúdez
10:Normative Explanations: Invoking Rationality to Explain Happenings, Allan Gibbard

Reason and Nature

Essays in the Theory of Rationality

Edited by José Luis Bermúdez and Alan Millar

Clarendon Press

Mind Association Occasional Series

Author Information

Edited by José Luis Bermúdez, Professor of Philosophy, University of Stirling, and Alan Millar, Professor of Philosophy, University of Stirling

Contributors:

Paul Boghossian, New York University
Crispin Wright, University of St Andrews
John Broome, University of Oxford
Alan Millar, University of Stirling
Nick Chater, University of Warwick
Mike Oaksford, University of Cardiff
E. J. Lowe, Durham University
David Over, University of Sunderland
Isaac Levi, Columbia University
José Luis Bermúdez, University of Stirling
Allan Gibbard, University of Michigan

Reason and Nature

Essays in the Theory of Rationality

Edited by José Luis Bermúdez and Alan Millar

Clarendon Press

Mind Association Occasional Series

Reviews and Awards

"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