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    Carmelics

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

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    LoyalLoyalJusticeJustice
    Made withinDC&Austin
    Statements
    321,452
    Perspectives
    108,905
    Topics
    42
    Home/Original/inverse
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    Inverse View

    It is not the case that Reason alone can never be a motive to any action of the will.

    ?Set your confidence on the premises below to see your aggregate.

    Reasons For

    2 perspectives
    Reason for 1 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Kant's categorical imperative demonstrates that pure practical reason generates the moral law independently of any antecedent desire or inclination.
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      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.Agents can recognize a rational obligation (e.g., keeping promises) and act from that recognition alone, without any prior feeling of pleasure or pain motivating compliance.
      ?

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    • 3.If even one case exists where reason supplies both the rule and the motivating force, Hume's universal claim that reason 'alone' never motivates is falsified.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Reason for 2 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Hume's argument conflates the causal-mechanical sense of motivation with the normative sense, in which recognizing a reason can itself constitute a motivating state.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.Nagel argued in 'The Possibility of Altruism' that motivated desires can be derived from rational recognition of facts, meaning desire follows reason rather than preceding it.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.Abstract (demonstrative) reasoning involves a priori inferences about relations of ideas and cannot influence the will directly.
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      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.Probable reasoning helps us discover causal relations among objects of experience, but such causal knowledge cannot motivate action on its own.
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    • 3.Knowing that certain objects are causes and others are effects is of no concern to us if both causes and effects are indifferent to us.
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    Strongest counterpoint
    Explore the most compelling reason on the other side.