Reasoning: New Essays on Theoretical and Practical Thinking

by Magdalena Balcerak Jackson, Brendan Balcerak Jackson

Overview

Philosophers have always recognized the value of reason, but the process of reasoning itself has only recently begun to emerge as a philosophical topic in its own right. Is reasoning a distinctive kind of mental process? If so, what is its nature? How does reasoning differ from merely freely associating thoughts? What is the relationship between reasoning about what to believe and reasoning about how to act? Is reasoning itself something you do, or something that happens to you? And what is the value of reasoning? Are there rules for good or correct reasoning and, if so, what are they like? Does good reasoning always lead to justified belief or rational action? Is there more than one way to reason correctly from your evidence? This volume comprises twelve new essays by leading researchers in the philosophy of reasoning that together address these questions and many more, and explore the connections between them.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198791478
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	07/23/2019
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Magdalena Balcerak Jackson, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, University of Miami,Brendan Balcerak Jackson, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, University of Miami

Magdalena Balcerak Jackson is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Miami. She works in philosophy of mind, epistemology and the philosophy of language and on the intersections of these areas. Her publications focus on the nature and the epistemology of various cognitive capacities, such as imagination, perception, understanding, and reasoning. She has worked at universities in Germany, Australia and the USA.

Brendan Balcerak Jackson is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Miami. He works in philosophy of language, epistemology and metaphysics. His publications address foundational problems in the philosophy of language, questions about linguistic understanding, meta-metaphysics, and disagreement, as well as questions about rationality and norms of reasoning. He has worked at universities in Australia, Germany and the USA.

Table of Contents

1. IntroductionPart I: The Nature of ReasoningReasoning as a Mental Process2. Inference without Reckoning, Susanna Siegel3. A Linking Belief is Not Essential for Reasoning, John Broome4. Attitudes in Active Reasoning, Julia StaffelReasoning and Agency5. The Question of Practical Reason, Nicholas Southwood5. Is Reasoning a Form of Agency?, Mark Richard7. Inference, Agency and Responsibility, Paul BoghossianPart II: The Value of ReasoningRules for Reasoning8. Isolating Correct Reasoning, Alex Worsnip9. Small Steps and Great Leaps in Thought: The Epistemology of Basic Deductive Rules, Joshua Schechter10. With Power Comes Responsibility: Cognitive Capacities and Rational Requirements, Magdalena Balcerak Jackson and Brendan Balcerak JacksonReasoning and Reasons11. When Rational Reasoners Reason Differently, Michael G. Titelbaum and Matthew Kopec12. The Epistemic Innocence of Optimistically Biased Beliefs, Lisa Bortolotti, Magdalena Antrobus, and Ema Sullivan-Bissett13. Sovereign Agency, Matthew Noah Smith

Editorial Reviews

"The 12 essays in this volume offer a variety of analyses of reasoning, its nature, and its relationship to epistemic obligation and reasons...Epistemologists will find that many of the essays here are useful contributions to the field. Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty." — S. E. Forschler, CHOICE

From the Publisher