| FB-51464-05 | Research Programs: Fellowships for College Teachers and Independent Scholars | Elizabeth S. Radcliffe | Practical Belief and the Authority of Sentiment: David Hume and Recent Humean Debates | 1/1/2006 - 9/30/2006 | $40,000.00 | Elizabeth | S. | Radcliffe | | | | President and Board of Trustees of Santa Clara College | Santa Clara | CA | 95053-0001 | USA | 2004 | History of Philosophy | Fellowships for College Teachers and Independent Scholars | Research Programs | 40000 | 0 | 40000 | 0 |
I propose to finish a book on Hume's theory of motivation and the contemporary Humean theory adopted by many naturalists. The Humean theory of motivation says that one has a reason to act when one has a desire and a belief about how to fulfill that desire. I offer an interpretation of Hume's theory that thwarts some recent criticisms marshaled against the Humean theory. Specifically, I discuss arguments against psychologism (the view that reasons for actions are mental states) and the problem of reconciling moral internalism and moral cognitivism with the belief-desire model of motivation. This project will contribute both to Hume scholarship and to contemporary debates in moral psychology and practical reasoning. |