Skip to content
Carmelics
TopicsThinkersChangesContributorsLoading account…

    Carmelics

    A reasoning platform. Break down any belief into clear reasons, explore both sides, and weigh the evidence honestly.

    Navigate

    • Topics
    • Search
    • Recent Changes
    • Contribute
    • How It Works
    • Glossary
    • Thinkers
    • Contributors
    • About
    • Statistics
    • Terms
    • Privacy

    Database

    Statements
    —
    Perspectives
    —
    Topics
    —

    Press ? for keyboard shortcuts

    LoyalLoyalJusticeJustice
    Made withinDC&Austin
    Statements
    321,452
    Perspectives
    108,905
    Topics
    42
    Probable reasoning alone cannot motivate action; it only ... — Carmelics
    Home/Moral Responsibility
    HistoryEditSee Inverse

    Probable reasoning alone cannot motivate action; it only assists in pursuing ends already held.

    Moral ResponsibilityVirtue Ethics
    ?Rate how convincing each reason is below to see the overall strength.
    1 reason for
    2 reasons against

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
    ?
    • 1.Probable reasoning allows us to discern causal relations among objects of experience.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.Our positive or negative feelings about an end spread to the causes of that end, motivating pursuit or avoidance.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 3.Simply believing that one thing causes another will not motivate action without a prior desire or aversion toward the effect.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Reasons Against

    2 perspectives
    Reason against 1 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Practical reason, as Kant argues in the Groundwork, can generate categorical imperatives that motivate action independently of antecedent desires.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.If reason alone can bind rational agents to act through the moral law, then probable reasoning about duty can itself be motivationally sufficient.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 3.Hume's restriction of reason to a servant of passion presupposes a sharp faculty distinction that Kant's critical philosophy systematically dismantles.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Reason against 2 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Belief-desire internalism, as challenged by Nagel in 'The Possibility of Altruism,' conflates the genetic origin of motivation with its rational justification.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.When probable reasoning reveals that another person is suffering, this cognition can itself constitute a motivating reason without requiring a prior desire to alleviate suffering.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Sign in or register to share your perspective on this statement.

    Next step

    Based on where you are in your exploration

    Strongest counterpoint
    Explore the most compelling reason on the other side.

    Topics

    Moral ResponsibilityVirtue Ethics

    Connections

    2 topics

    Causation2 linkedTruth & Knowledge1 linked

    Related

    Belief-desire internalism, as challenged by Nagel in 'The Possibility of Altruis...Hume's restriction of reason to a servant of passion presupposes a sharp faculty...If reason alone can bind rational agents to act through the moral law, then prob...Our positive or negative feelings about an end spread to the causes of that end,...
    +4 moreShow less
    Practical reason, as Kant argues in the Groundwork, can generate categorical imp...Probable reasoning allows us to discern causal relations among objects of experi...Simply believing that one thing causes another will not motivate action without ...

    Similar

    Causal reasoning can only produce action when it presupposes an existi...87%Probable reasoning helps us discover causal relations among objects of...84%Hume holds that reason alone cannot produce any motivationally efficac...82%Appetite's motivation can override or operate apart from reason's dete...82%

    Source

    AI-extracted1/3 agreementValid
    SEP: kant-hume-morality
    View source passageHide passage
    According to the first argument, “reason alone can never be a motive to any action of the will” (T 2.3.3.1). Abstract (or demonstrative) reasoning, which involves a priori inferences and judgments pertaining to relations of ideas, cannot influence the will, but only assist us in our pursuit of an end we already have. For example, probable reasoning helps us discover causal relations among objects of experience conducive to the realization of pre-selected ends, but such information about cause an
    Extraction notes

    Validity: Extracted via Max plan + API grounding/validity checks

    Details

    When probable reasoning reveals that another person is suffering, this cognition...
    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    3 (1 for, 2 against)
    Edits
    1 edit