Blackburn's Ruling Passions
On Simon Blackburn's thought-invoking book "Ruling Passions: A Theory of Practical Reasoning" Michelle Mason wrote a clear and fair review that can be found here. I summarise here her basic points and also jot down my views on this matter in square brackets. Blackburn's Hume-friendly theory of pratical reasoning is different from both the oversimplified Humean instrumentalism and Kantian objectifying desire in an independent tribunal of reason. By presenting a fine-grained theory of deliberation, in which desire is also affected by deliberation, Blackburn strives to present Hume as non-relativistic. But even admitting this immense contribution, it is difficult to reconcile the traditional opposition between desire and reason, the perenial worry that prompts the entrechment of reason in various forms, most famously the Kantian school. [I like Blackburn's move in general, that is, to provide a more sophisticated picture of Humean deliberation, which I believe has lo...