ABSTRACT
Presenting the most comprehensive and lucid account of the topic currently available, Robert Audi's "Practical Reasoning and Ethical Decision" is essential reading for anyone interested in the role of reason in ethics or the nature of human action. The first part of the book is a detailed critical overview of the influential theories of practical reasoning found in Aristotle, Hume and Kant, whilst the second part examines practical reasoning in the light of important topics in moral psychology - weakness of will, self-deception, rationalization and others. In the third part, Audi describes the role of moral principles in practical reasoning and clarifies the way practical reasoning underlies ethical decisions. He formulates a comprehensive set of concrete ethical principles, explains how they apply to reasoning about what to do, and shows how practical reasoning guides moral conduct.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
chapter |7 pages
Introduction
part I|54 pages
Historical and conceptual background
chapter One|19 pages
Aristotle on practical reasoning and the structure of action
chapter Two|16 pages
Hume and the instrumentalist conception of practical reasoning
chapter Three|17 pages
Kant and the autonomy of practical reason
part II|45 pages
Practical reasoning, practical arguments, and intentional action
chapter Four|18 pages
The varieties and basic elements of practical reasoning
chapter Five|13 pages
Practical reasoning and intentional action
chapter Six|12 pages
Practical reasoning in the dynamics of action
part III|63 pages
Practical reasoning, ethical decision, and rational action