Probabilistic promotion and ability

Ergo: An Open Access Journal of Philosophy 6 (34) (2019)
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Abstract

We often have some reason to do actions insofar as they promote outcomes or states of affairs, such as the satisfaction of a desire. But what is it to promote an outcome? I defend a new version of 'probabilism about promotion'. According to Minimal Probabilistic Promotion, we promote some outcome when we make that outcome more likely than it would have been if we had done something (anything) else. This makes promotion easy and reasons cheap.

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Luke Elson
University of Reading

Citations of this work

Ecumenical epistemic instrumentalism.Nathaniel Sharadin - 2019 - Synthese 198 (3):2613-2639.
On Moral Obligations and Our Chances of Fulfilling Them.Farbod Akhlaghi - 2020 - Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 23 (3-4):625-638.

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References found in this work

Slaves of the passions.Mark Schroeder - 2007 - New York: Oxford University Press.
Ethics without principles.Jonathan Dancy - 2004 - New York: Oxford University Press.
Being Realistic About Reasons.Thomas Scanlon - 2014 - Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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