Research Group
in Analytic Philosophy

Abstract

Reasoning is a certain kind of attitude-revision. What kind? The aim of this paper is to introduce and defend a new answer to this question, based on the idea that reasoning is a goodness-fixing kind. The central claim is that reasoning has a constitutive point or aim: getting fitting attitudes. I will start by considering recent accounts of reasoning due to Ralph Wedgwood and John Broome, and argue that, while these accounts contain important insights, they are not satisfactory. I will then introduce and defend my alternative account, discuss some of its implications and attractions, and, finally, consider objections.

This paper represents collaborative work with Jonathan Way.