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Related Experiment Videos

"Defeaters" don't matter.

Zina B Ward1, Edouard Machery2

  • 1Department of History and Philosophy of Science,University of Pittsburgh,Pittsburgh, PA 15260zina.b.ward@pitt.eduhttp://zinabward.com.

The Behavioral and Brain Sciences
|May 9, 2019
PubMed
Summary
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Agency can be expressed through actions reflecting personal values, even when faced with "defeaters." This challenges reflectivist theories by showing value-consistent behavior without conscious deliberation.

Area of Science:

  • Philosophy of Mind
  • Action Theory
  • Moral Psychology

Background:

  • Reflectivist theories of agency posit that actions must involve conscious reflection to express personal values.
  • The existence of 'defeaters' (factors that undermine rational control) is debated in relation to agency.
  • Previous work by Doris introduces the concept of defeaters in the context of agency.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To argue that the exercise of agency is compatible with the presence of defeaters.
  • To challenge reflectivist theories of agency.
  • To support a valuational alternative to reflectivist accounts of agency.

Main Methods:

  • Conceptual analysis of agency and its relationship with values.
  • Examination of Doris's concept of defeaters.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Argumentation against reflectivist theories of agency.

    • Main Results:

    • Demonstration that agentive behaviors can express a person's values without involving reflection.
    • Establishment of the compatibility between agency and the presence of defeaters.
    • Undermining of reflectivist theories by providing an alternative framework.

    Conclusions:

    • Agency and the expression of values can occur even in the presence of factors that might seem to undermine them (defeaters).
    • Doris's valuational account offers a viable alternative to reflectivist theories of agency.
    • Conscious reflection is not a necessary condition for all value-expressive actions.