Internal Reasons

A collection of the most important recent work on reasons for action and the question “why be moral?” Some of the most challenging questions in philosophical ethics concern the justification of action. Can you have reasons to do something that you are not, and perhaps cannot be, motivated to do? If reasons rest on desires, why respect the rights and interests of others when doing so prevents us from getting what we want? In other words, why be moral? In his 1979 essay, “Internal and External Reasons,” Bernard Williams framed the dispute about reason and motivation in a way that captured the philosophical imagination. An explosion of work on reasons and action followed, with influential responses by Christine Korsgaard, John McDowell, and Michael Smith. This volume collects the most important work on the topic, including Williams's seminal essay, the responses by Korsgaard, McDowell, and Smith, and more recent contributions by central figures. Taken together, the selections offer a comprehensive survey of state-of-the-art work on internal reasons and a distinctive, focused approach to foundational questions of ethical objectivity. A substantive introduction by Kieran Setiya skillfully guides the reader through the theoretical and conceptual terrain, explaining what is at stake in the larger debate.

Collection of philosophical papers

Metaethics occupies a central place in analytical philosophy, and the last forty years has seen an upsurge of interest in questions about the nature and practice of morality. This collection presents original and ground-breaking research on metaethical issues from some of the very best of a new generation of philosophers working in this field.

"The book is to show that the aim of thinking about what to do, of practical reason, is to find, not what we ought to do, but what is a good thing to do for us under the circumstances. So it argues, first, that neither under prudence nor under morality there are things we ought to do. There is no warrant for the idea of our being required, by natural law perhaps or by our rationality, to do either what helps us attain our ends or what is right for moral reasons. While common moral understanding is committed to there being things we ought to do and to our being guilty and deserving blame if we fail to do them, we can lay aside these notions without loss, indeed with benefit. Second, it explains what it is for something to be good for somebody to do under the circumstances and argues for understanding practical reason in these terms. What is good for somebody to do we find by experience: from what we go through we learn what helps and what hinders and figure out on this basis both what is prudentially useful and what is morally right to do - although in the end this difference itself gives way, and morality turns out to be a part of prudence"--

Interpreting Heritage is a practical book about the planning and delivery of interpretation that will give anyone working in the heritage sector the confidence and tools they need to undertake interpretation. Steve Slack suggests a broad formula for how interpretation can be planned and executed and describes some of the most popular – and potentially challenging, or provocative – forms of interpretation. Slack also provides practical guidance about how to deliver different forms of interpretation, while avoiding potential pitfalls. Exploring some of the ethical questions that arise when presenting information to the public and offering a grounding in some of the theory that underpins interpretive work, the book will be suitable for those who are completely new to interpretation. Those who already have some experience will benefit from tools, advice and ideas to help build on their existing practice. Drawing upon the author’s professional experiences of working within, and for, the heritage sector, Interpreting Heritage provides advice and suggestions that will be essential for practitioners working in museums, art galleries, libraries, archives, outdoor sites, science centres, castles, stately homes and other heritage venues around the world. It will also be of interest to students of museum and heritage studies who want to know more about how heritage interpretation works in practice.