Irreplaceability and Uniqueness

Abstract

AbstractAfter tackling the issue of why exactly attractive qualities are the wrong kind of reasons for love, this chapter considers a non-standard form of the Quality Theory, the Generic Quality Theory, shows it to be inadequate, and defends an alternative account—the Unique Quality Theory—according to which the reason to love an individual has to do with their value as the unique individual they are. The latter view is shown to be superior to all the alternative accounts, including the Generic Quality Theory. The chapter ends by tackling two objections to the view. It also considers the possibility of combining the Reasons View with an error theory of reasons for love.