too many cooks

Too Many Reasons

Quinn’s radio man example is a forceful way of pushing the worry that the Humean Theory of Reasons results in too many reasons - i.e., that it is subject to counterexamples of the following form: cases in which there is actually no reason to do something, but the HTR says that there is in fact some reason to do it. For today’s class we return to Schroeder’s response to this pattern of counterexample to his theory.

Reading

Please read chapter 5 of Slaves of the Passions. As you read, try to pay attention for two things: first, can you resist Schroeder’s explanation of what is going on in the cases of proposed counterexamples? And second, do you feel like there is still an objection left to be pressed, after we take on board Schroeder’s defense?