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Aristotle On The Αρχή Of Practical Reasoning: Countering The Influence Of Sub-Humeanism, Lynn Holt
Aristotle On The Αρχή Of Practical Reasoning: Countering The Influence Of Sub-Humeanism, Lynn Holt
The Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Newsletter
My central aim is to show that Aristotle convincingly avoids what has been the linchpin of the dominant contemporary view of the starting point of practical reasoning: that practical reasoning must begin, both normatively and motivationally, with some desire or want (call this sub-Humeanism). My task is made more difficult by the presence of a now common interpretation of Aristotle himself in which desire is both normatively and motivationally super-ordinate. On this view, Aristotle cannot be a genuine alternative to the contemporary view, since he just is a contemporary: Aristotle is the first sub-Humean about practical reasoning.
In order to …