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Following the Rules - Practical Reasoning and Deontic Constraint (Paperback)
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Following the Rules - Practical Reasoning and Deontic Constraint (Paperback)
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For centuries, philosophers have been puzzled by the fact that
people often respect moral obligations as a matter of principle,
setting aside considerations of self-interest. In more recent
years, social scientists have been puzzled by the more general
phenomenon of rule-following, the fact that people often abide by
social norms even when doing so produces undesirable consequences.
Experimental game theorists have demonstrated conclusively that the
old-fashioned picture of "economic man," constantly reoptimizing in
order to maximize utility in all circumstances, cannot provide
adequate foundations for a general theory of rational action. The
dominant response, however, has been a slide toward irrationalism.
If people are ignoring the consequences of their actions, it is
claimed, it must be because they are making some sort of a mistake.
In Following the Rules, Joseph Heath attempts to reverse this
trend, by showing how rule-following can be understood as an
essential element of rational action. The first step involves
showing how rational choice theory can be modified to incorporate
deontic constraint as a feature of rational deliberation. The
second involves disarming the suspicion that there is something
mysterious or irrational about the psychological states underlying
rule-following. According to Heath, human rationality is a
by-product of the so-called "language upgrade" that we receive as a
consequence of the development of specific social practices. As a
result, certain constitutive features of our social
environment-such as the rule-governed structure of social
life-migrate inwards, and become constitutive features of our
psychological faculties. This in turn explains why there is an
indissoluble bond between practical rationality and deontic
constraint. In the end, what Heath offers is a naturalistic,
evolutionary argument in favor of the traditional Kantian view that
there is an internal connection between being a rational agent and
feeling the force of one's moral obligations. "Following the Rules
brings together in a provocative and interesting way various
literatures that moral philosophers should consider... I think that
this is an excellent book."-Joseph Mendola, Notre Dame
Philosophical Reviews "Establishes a wholly new standard for books
of this kind...Heath's book truly advances our understanding of the
normative dimension of human life." - Jaroslav Peregrin,
International Review of Pragmatics "Ethicists and social theorists
skeptical of strictly consequentialist explanations of human
behavior should read this penetrating book. Highly
recommended."-C.A. Striblen, CHOICE
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