Practical Reason as the Source of Explanation and Comprehension

Abstract

Abstract This chapter sets the stage for a discussion of practical reason in the Groundwork by arguing that practical reason can be a faculty for explanation and comprehension rather than for justification. Typically, the justification of an action is what gives me a reason to act and the explanation is what gets me to comprehend why the action occurs. However, explanations can also be practical; an explanation for why I ought to perform some action can motivate me to do it. It is then possible that the reason why I ought to perform some action is a reason that I comprehend, and comprehend deeply, rather than simply a reason that I endorse, as in Christine Korsgaard’s account. This occurs when I comprehend that my own end is to be an end in myself.