Projects, Relationships, and Reasons

Abstract

Abstract The relation between values and reasons has been the subject of much discussion in recent moral philosophy, but few people have explored the topic with as much insight and sensitivity as Joseph Raz. In this essay, I will discuss one aspect of what Raz calls ‘the value reason nexus’:1 namely, the relation between valuing certain kinds of things and the recognition of reasons for action. Elsewhere I have argued that to value one’s relationship to another person non00ADinstrumentally just is, in part, to be disposed to treat that person’s needs, interests, and desires as providing one with reasons for action, reasons that one would not have had in the absence of the relationship. This is part of what valuing a relationship non instrumentally involves. In this essay, I want to extend the argument from interpersonal relationships to personal projects.

Cite this work

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 72 citations exist upstream.