Practical Reasoning in a Social World How We Act Together [Hardcover]

This book examines the philosophical assumptions behind the ideas of group membership and loyalty.This book proposes a theory of practical reasoning that rests on an appeal to universal features of human agency. It contributes to a growing literature on the relation between actions and institutions; between individuals and the collectivities to which they belong; and between those collectivities and the conditions of agency which they impose. The primary audience for the book will be political philosophers, but the implications of Graham's arguments for political action will interest a secondary readership.This book proposes a theory of practical reasoning that rests on an appeal to universal features of human agency. It contributes to a growing literature on the relation between actions and institutions; between individuals and the collectivities to which they belong; and between those collectivities and the conditions of agency which they impose. The primary audience for the book will be political philosophers, but the implications of Graham's arguments for political action will interest a secondary readership.This book proposes a theory of practical reasoning that rests on an appeal to universal features of human agency. It contributes to a growing literature on the relation between actions and institutions; between individuals and the collectivities to which they belong; and between those collectivities and the conditions of agency which they impose. The primary audience for the book will be political philosophers, but the implications of Graham's arguments for political action will interest a secondary readership.Preface; Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. Practical reason in context; 2. The indistinctness of persons: causal interconnection; 3. The indistinctness of persons: the personhood of collectivities; 4. Practical collective identification and dissociation; 5. Practical reasoning: sources and constraints; 6. Practical reasoning and morality; Conclusion; lĻ