The dualism of practical reason

Abstract

An outline and defence of the view, found also in the work of Joseph Butler, Henry Sidgwick, and Samuel Scheffler, that reasons have their sources in both self-interest and morality. The discussion revolves around Shelly Kagan’s book The Limits of Morality. Kagan rightly claims that there is a reason to promote the good impartially, but fails to recognize the force of competing reasons to promote one’s own good. The implications of denying constraints for a dualistic view are discussed, and it is claimed that the language of moral requirement is best avoided.