{"product_id":"following-the-rules-joseph-heath-9780199768332","title":"Following the Rules: Practical Reasoning and Deontic Constraint","description":"For centuries, philosophers have been puzzled by the fact that people often respect moral obligations as a matter of principle, setting aside considerations of self-interest. In more recent years, social scientists have been puzzled by the more general phenomenon of rule-following, the fact that people often abide by social norms even when doing so produces undesirable consequences. Experimental game theorists have demonstrated conclusively that the old-fashioned picture of \"economic man,\" constantly reoptimizing in order to maximize utility in all circumstances, cannot provide adequate foundations for a general theory of rational action. The dominant response, however, has been a slide toward irrationalism. If people are ignoring the consequences of their actions, it is claimed, it must be because they are making some sort of a mistake. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eFollowing the Rules\u003c\/em\u003e, Joseph Heath attempts to reverse this trend, by showing how rule-following can be understood as an essential element of rational action. The first step involves showing how rational choice theory can be modified to incorporate deontic constraint as a feature of rational deliberation. The second involves disarming the suspicion that there is something mysterious or irrational about the psychological states underlying rule-following. According to Heath, human rationality is a by-product of the so-called \"language upgrade\" that we receive as a consequence of the development of specific social practices. As a result, certain constitutive features of our social environment-such as the rule-governed structure of social life-migrate inwards, and become constitutive features of our psychological faculties. This in turn explains why there is an indissoluble bond between practical rationality and deontic constraint. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn the end, what Heath offers is a naturalistic, evolutionary argument in favor of the traditional Kantian view that there is an internal connection between being a rational agent and feeling the force of one's moral obligations.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Joseph Heath\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0199768331\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780199768332\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Oxford University Press, USA\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/02\/2011\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 354\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.10lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.20h x 6.10w x 0.90d","brand":"Joseph Heath","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43914293772543,"sku":"9780199768332","price":52.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/products\/img_07ba70de-5112-4b7e-9564-9f3539f87ef6.jpg?v=1680641466","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/following-the-rules-joseph-heath-9780199768332","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}