The Explanatory Role of Reasons I

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter presents the first part of an account of the explanatory role of normative reasons—the role they play in determining deontic status. Whether you ought to respond in a certain way depends on the strength of the overall case for that response in comparison to alternatives. The strength of the case for a response depends on the weights of the reasons for that response. This chapter provides an account of the weights of reasons. The central idea is that one reason outweighs another when it’s good reasoning to respond to the former and not the latter. The chapter spells out and illustrates this idea, showing how it accommodates desiderata which other accounts of the weights of reasons struggle with. It shows how the idea delivers plausible results when combined with the account of good reasoning in Chapter 2 and can accommodate conditions and modifiers of reasons.