Setting limits to practical reflection: Against Philosophy as a Way of Life

Metaphilosophy 51 (2-3):375-390 (2020)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

According to a tradition going back to Socrates, one should thoroughly examine the grounds of one’s judgments before settling on what one has reason to do or believe. According to contemporary metaethical constructivism, assumed in this essay, reflective scrutiny is also central to assessing a judgment’s claim to justification. This essay argues against the injunctions to thoroughly examine oneself and seek ultimate reasons for one’s normative judgments. In other words, the essay argues against the ideal of the philosophical way of life. It shows that in most cases one does not have reason to question the practical conclusion of one’s initial deliberation. It is only under very limited conditions, specified in the essay, that one is justified in engaging in further reflection. Furthermore, the essay argues that if one does go for full self-examination, the consequences are most likely to be bad for oneself, given one’s practical interests.

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 90,616

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

The practices of the self.Charles E. Larmore - 2010 - London: University of Chicago Press. Edited by Sharon Bowman.
Practical reason.R. Jay Wallace - 2008 - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Setting Limits.Daniel Callahan - 1989 - Hypatia 4 (2):169-178.
Practical-theoritical argumentation.Robert T. Craig - 1996 - Argumentation 10 (4):461-474.
Practical knowledge and ethics.Tore Nordenstam - 2013 - AI and Society 28 (4):377-382.
Possibilities and Limits of Self-reflection in the Teaching Profession.Jan Bengtsson - 2003 - Studies in Philosophy and Education 22 (3/4):295-316.
Not und die Grenzen der Moral.Simon Derpmann - 2014 - Deutsche Zeitschrift für Philosophie 62 (6):1138-1152.
Setting Limits Fairly. [REVIEW]James Dwyer, Norman Daniels & James Sabin - 2003 - Hastings Center Report 33 (3):46.

Analytics

Added to PP
2020-04-28

Downloads
47 (#299,016)

6 months
3 (#447,120)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

Vitor Sommavilla
Federal University of Paraiba

Citations of this work

No citations found.

Add more citations

References found in this work

What We Owe to Each Other.Thomas Scanlon - 2002 - Mind 111 (442):323-354.
Free agency.Gary Watson - 1975 - Journal of Philosophy 72 (April):205-20.
Understanding Why.Alison Hills - 2015 - Noûs 49 (2):661-688.

View all 20 references / Add more references