Mark Schroeder
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199299508
- eISBN:
- 9780191714917
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199299508.003.0011
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy
This chapter summarizes the key ideas advanced in the book and offers positive motivation for Hypotheticalism. Some advantages of Hypotheticalism derive from the fact that it is a reductive theory of ...
More
This chapter summarizes the key ideas advanced in the book and offers positive motivation for Hypotheticalism. Some advantages of Hypotheticalism derive from the fact that it is a reductive theory of the normative. A second class of advantages derives from its treatment of the weight of reasons, which allows it an elegant diagnosis of data about the apparent holism of reasons and of Hume's Law. A third class of advantages derives from its treatment of moral motivation and moral epistemology. A highly general methodological argument is offered in favour of the Humean Theory very generally, of which Hypotheticalism purports to be the most defensible version. Finally, it is shown that the same sorts of problems that confront the Humean Theory can be raised for other theories as well, and argued that the tools that Hypotheticalism uses to answer these objections work better on its own behalf than on others'.Less
This chapter summarizes the key ideas advanced in the book and offers positive motivation for Hypotheticalism. Some advantages of Hypotheticalism derive from the fact that it is a reductive theory of the normative. A second class of advantages derives from its treatment of the weight of reasons, which allows it an elegant diagnosis of data about the apparent holism of reasons and of Hume's Law. A third class of advantages derives from its treatment of moral motivation and moral epistemology. A highly general methodological argument is offered in favour of the Humean Theory very generally, of which Hypotheticalism purports to be the most defensible version. Finally, it is shown that the same sorts of problems that confront the Humean Theory can be raised for other theories as well, and argued that the tools that Hypotheticalism uses to answer these objections work better on its own behalf than on others'.
Jan Lauwereyns
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262123105
- eISBN:
- 9780262277990
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262123105.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Neuropsychology
This book examines the neural underpinnings of decision-making using “bias” as its core concept, rather than the more common but noncommittal terms “selection” and “attention.” It offers an ...
More
This book examines the neural underpinnings of decision-making using “bias” as its core concept, rather than the more common but noncommittal terms “selection” and “attention.” It offers an integrative, interdisciplinary account of the structure and function of bias, which it defines as a basic brain mechanism that attaches different weights to different information sources, prioritizing some cognitive representations at the expense of others. The author introduces the concepts of bias and sensitivity based on notions from Bayesian probability, which he translates into easily recognizable neural signatures, introduced by concrete examples from the experimental literature. He examines, among other topics, positive and negative motivations for giving priority to different sensory inputs, and looks for the neural underpinnings of racism, sexism, and other forms of “familiarity bias.” The author—a poet and essayist as well as a scientist—connects findings and ideas in neuroscience to analogous concepts in such diverse fields as post-Lacanian psychoanalysis, literary theory, philosophy of mind, evolutionary psychology, and experimental economics.Less
This book examines the neural underpinnings of decision-making using “bias” as its core concept, rather than the more common but noncommittal terms “selection” and “attention.” It offers an integrative, interdisciplinary account of the structure and function of bias, which it defines as a basic brain mechanism that attaches different weights to different information sources, prioritizing some cognitive representations at the expense of others. The author introduces the concepts of bias and sensitivity based on notions from Bayesian probability, which he translates into easily recognizable neural signatures, introduced by concrete examples from the experimental literature. He examines, among other topics, positive and negative motivations for giving priority to different sensory inputs, and looks for the neural underpinnings of racism, sexism, and other forms of “familiarity bias.” The author—a poet and essayist as well as a scientist—connects findings and ideas in neuroscience to analogous concepts in such diverse fields as post-Lacanian psychoanalysis, literary theory, philosophy of mind, evolutionary psychology, and experimental economics.
