Desire That Amounts to Knowledge

Abstract

Abstract In this chapter, it is argued that desires can amount to knowledge, in the same way that beliefs can amount to knowledge. This follows from two claims: that goodness is the accuracy condition for desire and that knowledge is apt mental representation. The latter general account of knowledge is explained and motivated, by appeal to the fact that it can explain what the various species of knowledge and understanding have in common. Cases of desire that amounts to knowledge are dubbed cases of “orectic knowledge,” and the ethical importance of orectic knowledge is discussed.