Title
Korsgaard's Constitutive Arguments and the Principles of Practical Reason
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2011
Publication Title
Philosophical Quarterly
Department
Philosophy
Abstract
Constitutive arguments for the principles of practical reason attempt to justify normative requirements by claiming that we already accept them in so far as we are believers or agents. In two constitutive arguments for the requirement that we must will universally, Korsgaard attempts first to arrive at the requirement that we will universally from observations about the causality of the will, and secondly to establish that willing universally is constitutive of having a self. Some rational requirements may be established by some version of this second argument, but the strategy does not seem promising when it comes to establishing the requirement that we will universally. I draw on the discussion of Korsgaard to highlight a challenge facing constitutive arguments in general.
Volume
61
Issue
243
pp.
343-362
ISSN
0031-8094
WorldCat Link
Citation
Tubert, Ariela. 2011. "KORSGAARD'S CONSTITUTIVE ARGUMENTS AND THE PRINCIPLES OF PRACTICAL REASON". The Philosophical Quarterly. 61 (243).