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OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 7/5/2018, SPi
The Importance
of Being Rational
Errol Lord
1
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 7/5/2018, SPi
3
Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP,
United Kingdom
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford.
It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship,
and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of
Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries
© Errol Lord 2018
The moral rights of the author have been asserted
First Edition published in 2018
Impression: 1
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the
prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted
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rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the
above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the
address above
You must not circulate this work in any other form
and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer
Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2017964291
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Links to third party websites are provided by Oxford in good faith and
for information only. Oxford disclaims any responsibility for the materials
contained in any third party website referenced in this work.
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 7/5/2018, SPi
To Anne
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 7/5/2018, SPi
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 7/5/2018, SPi
Yet the thing is not altogether desperate; for we have some arguments to
guide us . . .
(Newton, 1953, p. 24)
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 7/5/2018, SPi
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 7/5/2018, SPi
Preface
This book is the culmination of a project that has spanned the last ten years. The
project started when I was an undergraduate at Arizona State. I had the privilege
of attending Doug Portmore’s seminar on reasons and value. It was for that class
that I first wrote about the connection between reasons and rationality. During the
same semester I attended Doug’s class, I also attended Stew Cohen’s seminar on
Williamson’s Knowledge and its Limits. Although I did not write about reasons or
rationality for Stew, his seminar had a profound effect on my philosophical trajectory.
I thank both Doug and Stew for their teaching, their kindness, and their support. I
also thank Bach Ho and Shyam Nair for their intellectual companionship during my
ASU days.
After ASU, I entered the PhD program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. My
plan was to work on normative ethics. This changed about a month into my first
semester. I gave my first talk as a graduate student at the in-house talk series for
graduate students. UN-L has a great tradition of inviting all first year faculty to these
talks. I was lucky enough to have Dave Sobel and Jan Dowell at my talk. I gave the
paper I had written for Doug the previous spring. I had actually wanted to talk about
contractualism, but didn’t have anything I was happy enough with. I’m glad I didn’t
because the discussion of my paper that day was exhilarating enough to cause a serious
obsession with the connection between reasons and rationality. I have to thank Dave
especially for pushing me just hard enough to very badly want to solve the obvious
problems. I was so worked up that I was madly writing notes on the back of scrap paper
on my bus ride home. Dave was quite surprised when I pulled out these same pieces of
paper that night at a department party. I continued to work on these issues for much of
my time at UN-L, eventually writing an MA thesis on the topic. I was helped by many
at UN-L. I owe a very large debt to Mark van Roojen, who was my main advisor.
Without Mark, I would have never been admitted to Princeton. Without that I am
confident that this book would not exist. I also thank Al Casullo, Jan Dowell, Cullen
Gatten, John Gibbons, Reina Hayaki, Cliff Hill, Tim Loughlin, Jennifer McKitrick,
Joe Mendola, Dave Sobel, Steve Swartzer, and Adam Thompson.
After Nebraska I was fortunate enough to come to Princeton. When I began
the PhD program at Princeton I planned to write on the broader topic of whether
reasons are the fundamental constituents of the normative. My thinking on that topic
continually led me back to the central ideas of this book. This convinced me to write a
dissertation defending a reasons based account of rationality. That dissertation is this
book’s immediate predecessor.
Princeton was an ideal place for me to develop intellectually. I look back on
that time in the way that Tim Riggins looks back on high school. It was an ideal
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 7/5/2018, SPi
x preface
philosophical environment for me. I have many to thank. First and foremost, I thank
my official advisors, Tom Kelly and Michael Smith, and my unofficial advisor, Gideon
Rosen. All three were truly fantastic to work with. They all provided invaluable
feedback on countless occasions, both about my work and about life. They were great
colleagues and are great friends. I’m honored to know them.
The book has undergone a tremendous amount of revision since its days as a
dissertation. Chapters 4 and 6 did not exist in the dissertation and the views defended
in them transform the account (I think for the better). It was a slog bringing them
into existence. This endeavor was greatly helped by my time as a visiting researcher at
the University of Oxford in spring 2015. I visited the New Insights and Directions for
Religious Epistemology project. I thank John Hawthorne—the project’s director—for
the support. I also thank Billy Dunaway, Rachel Dunaway, and Julia Staffel for their
time and support when I was in Oxford.
By far the biggest incentive for finishing the book was provided by a graduate
seminar at Penn in the spring 2016 semester. I thank the students of that seminar—
Ben Baker, Grace Boey, Chetan Cetty, Sam Fulhart, and Max Lewis—for their help
and patience. Daniel Whiting read the manuscript and sent comments on all of
the chapters as the seminar progressed. This was incredibly generous of him. His
comments were very helpful and led to many changes.
Work on the final revisions of the book was greatly helped along by the excellent
comments provided by OUP’s readers Alex Gregory and Eric Wiland. I thank them for
taking the time to engage with the book so thoroughly. Shyam Nair and Kurt Sylvan
also provided extremely helpful comments in the final weeks of revisions.
Thanks next to John Broome, Mark Schroeder, and Timothy Williamson. Their
work serves as a touchstone for the kind of work I hope to do and for the best versions
of all sorts of views about all sorts of things. I end up disagreeing with all of them, but
the book is undoubtedly better because these three are the three that are most often
in the back of my mind. I thank Mark in particular for also being a mentor and friend
even though he had no obligation to do so. In my fourth year out of graduate school
I am just now realizing how enormously generous Mark was to support me and my
work when I was at Nebraska. I will be forever grateful for this help.
Many audiences have helped to make the book better. I discussed ideas from the
book at the 2008 UT Austin Graduate Conference, the 12th Annual Oxford Graduate
Conference, the Cologne Summer School in Philosophy, the CRNAP Networkshop
at the L’Institut Jean Nicod, the Northern Institute of Philosophy at the University of
Aberdeen, Franklin & Marshall College, Vassar College, the University of Edinburgh,
the University at Buffalo (SUNY), the University of California-Santa Barbara, the
University of Pennsylvania, the Georgetown Conference on Reasons and Reasoning,
the Rocky Mountain Ethics Congress, the Wisconsin Metaethics Workshop, the
University of Reading, Birkbeck, University of London, the University of Geneva,
Dartmouth, the Leipzig Conference on Reasoning, and many times at both the
University of Nebraska and Princeton. I thank members of the audiences at all of these
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 7/5/2018, SPi
preface xi
places. I especially thank Neil Sinhababu for formally commenting in Austin, John
Broome for formally commenting in Oxford, Jens Ziska for formally commenting in
Paris, and Andrew Huddleston for formally commenting in Princeton.
In addition to those already mentioned, I thank Ashley Atkins, Ralf Bader, Derek
Baker, Sam Baker, Nick Beckstead, Bob Beddor, Selim Berker, John Brunero, Tim
Campbell, Dave Chalmers, Richard Yetter Chappell, Ryan Cook, Aaron Cotnoir,
Anthony Cross, Simon Cullen, Jordan Delange, Sinan Dogramaci, Billy Dunaway,
Julien Dutant, David Enoch, Steve Finlay, Daniel Fogal, Samuel Freeman, Nate Gadd,
Ken Gemes, Josh Gillon, Javier Gonzalez de Prado Salas, Dan Greco, Mark Harris,
Bennett Helm, Jennifer Hornsby, Jonathan Jenkins Ichikawa, Frank Jackson, Karen
Jones, Rishi Joshi, Benjamin Kiesewetter, Boris Kment, Raffi Krut-Landau, Barry Lam,
Max Lewis, Alida Liberman, Kathryn Lindeman, Eden Lin, Susanne Mantel, Corey
Maley, Jimmy Martin, Brennan McDavid, Aidan McGlynn, Tristram McPherson,
Angela Mendelovici, Carla Merino-Rajme, Lisa Miracchi, Andreas Müller, Shyam
Nair, Ram Neta, Cory Nichols, Thomas Noah, David Nowakowski, Rachel Parsons,
Lewis Powell, Kristin Primus, Joe Rachiele, Mike Ridge, Jacob Ross, Susanna Siegel,
Vanessa Schouten, Andrew Sepielli, Nate Sharadin, Derek Shiller, Sam Shpall, Dan
Singer, Holly Smith, Justin Snedegar, Ernie Sosa, Jack Spencer, Daniel Star, Noel
Swanson, Pekka Väyrynen, Gerard Vong, Ralph Wedgwood, Michael Weisberg,
Daniel Wodak, Jack Woods, Alex Worsnip, and Helen Yetter Chappell.
A version of chapter 2 was published as ‘The Coherent and the Rational,’ Analytic
Philosophy (2014) 55(2), 151–175. A version of chapter 8 is forthcoming in Mind (doi:
10.1093/mind/fzw023). A version of chapter 7 has been commissioned for The New
Evil Demon: New Essays on Knowledge, Justification, and Rationality, which is under
contract with Oxford University Press. I thank Oxford University Press and Wiley for
permission to reuse the material.
Thanks to Daniel Star for the cover photograph. The room at the top of the stairs
will always have a special place in my heart.
Seven friends deserve extra thanks. All have provided help that goes well beyond
what I deserve. They have enriched my life and my work. I hope to know them for the
rest of my life. They are Barry Maguire, Shyam Nair, Whitney Schwab, David Plunkett,
Kurt Sylvan, Jonathan Way, and, most especially, Andrew Huddleston.
Last but not least, I thank my family. I thank my parents and my parents-in-law.
I thank my kids for being a constant source of wonder and fun. And I thank my
wonderful wife Anne. It is with all my heart that I dedicate this book to you.
EL
Princeton
July 2017
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 7/5/2018, SPi
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 7/5/2018, SPi
Contents
xiv contents
contents xv
Bibliography 243
Index of Cases 255
Index of Principles & Requirements 257
General Index 259
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 7/5/2018, SPi
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 10/5/2018, SPi
PA R T I
Initial Motivations
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 10/5/2018, SPi
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 10/5/2018, SPi
1
Introduction
Reasons Responsiveness, the Reasons Program,
and Knowledge-First
We devote a good portion of our lives striving to figure out what it makes sense to do,
believe, intend, desire, and hope for given our often limited information and abilities.
In other words, a good portion of our lives consists in striving to be rational. This
book seeks to understand what exactly we are striving for. In it, I explicate and defend
a general and unified account of rationality. By the end, I hope to show that we are not
mistaken for devoting so much of our lives to being rational. Rationality, in my view, is
of fundamental deontic importance—i.e., in my view, rationality plays a fundamental
role in determining how we ought to react to the world.
The thesis of the book is that what it is to be rational is to correctly respond to
possessed objective normative reasons. I will call this view of rationality Reasons
Responsiveness. I will do three things in this introductory chapter. First, I will briefly
explicate what I take this claim to involve. Second, I will explain some background
motivations for pursuing the project as I do. Third, I will explain the book’s plan.
G.
Gas in Isolated Dwellings, 225
Gas-pipes, 202
Good Taste in Building, 135
Grading, 132
Graining, 226
Grates and Registers, 216
Ground-plans Affecting Outside Dress, 225
Gutters, Old and New Methods, 31
H.
Half Stone Walls, 147
Hall, Contents not Exposed to St., 84
Halls, Windy and Cheerless, 192
Hard-wood Oiled, 219
Head-room Over Stairs Utilized, 66
Heater, Portable, 185
Heaters, Fireplace, How to Set, 194
High Foundations, 99
Hooded Compared with Mansard Style, 50
Houses Cheap as Lumber and Nails Can Make Them, 12
House for Dwelling, with Office, 134
Houses Set too Low, No Cure, 142
House-work Without Intrusion, 223
I.
Imitations, Objections to, 74
Importance of Good Roof, 13
Imposing Outlines, 233
Indestructible Covering, 175
J.
Jarring Prevented, 42
Job, Who Gets, 104
Joined, Separate Chimneys Over Arch, 157
Justice, in Painting, Last Opportunity, 74
K.
Keys to Circular Heads, 192
Kitchen, Isolated, 130
Kitchen, Pleasant, 94
Knot, Shellacked, 67
L.
Lamp-shelf, and Location of, 125
Lighting Lobby, 230
Lining-off Exterior Plastering, 25
Little Required to Build, 26
Location, Questions Involved, 141
Locker or Private Cellar, 160
Looking Like a Farm-house, 159
Low-down Grates, 165
Low-priced Plans, 22
M.
Mansard Roof, Significance, 206
Marble Mantels, 180
Marble Shelves, 194
Modern Buildings on Old Foundations, 205
Mortar for Plastering, 145
Mortar for Stone-work, 114
N.
New Modification of Mansard Roof, 128
Nine Doors in Small Hall, 172
Novelty Siding, 30
O.
Observatory, 233
Omissions, Reducing Cost, 170
One’s Dwelling an Indication of His Character, 10
Outside Plastering, 42
Overloaded Cornices, 77
P.
Painting; Object, When and How, 74
Parquet-flooring, 218
Parsonage, 180
Partitions in Cellar, 218
Paving Shed-floors, 126
Piazza, Change to Conservatory, 126
Piece-lumber Used Without Waste, 59
Plan Resembling a Double House, 101
Plant-windows, 112
Plastering, a Non-conductor of Sound, 16
Plastering Cellar Ceilings, 189
Plastering, Different Modes, 53
Plastering, Estimate in Detail, 139
Plumbing, Economical, 177
Plumbing, Estimate in Detail, 195
Plumbing, Specifications for, 237
Pointed Style for Rural Surroundings, 92
Porch Instead of Lobby, 18
Preface, 3
Providing Against Changing Vicissitudes, 10
Providing for Future Enlargements, 34
Q.
Qualified to Estimate, Who Should Be, 104
Quarried Stone, Used as Found, 149
Quarter-circle Stairs, 48
Quiet Corner, 160
R.
Radiator Utilizing Heat from Kitchen Fire, 19
Rafters Extending Downward, 133
Rake of Roof, 60
Rats and Mice Shut Out, 190
Reversing Plans, 23
Ribbed Glass, 213
Rolled Sheathing, 237
Roofing Materials foreign from Each Other, 207
Roof Ventilation, 85
Room for an Invalid Mother, 143
Rough Boards for Siding, 20
Rule for Projections, 139
S.
Satisfaction of Hanging Sash, and Cost, 28
Saving in Foundation, New Method, 35
Saving Time and Trouble, 27
School and Play-room, 224
Seeming Growth of the Earth, 143
Semi-dressed Stone, 78
Setting a Girder, 41
Shaky and Doubtful Foundations, 37
Sheathing and Felting, 192
Shingling, How Done, 30
Side Alley-way, 54
Side Openings in Chimney-tops, Solid Caps, 53
Siding on Sheathing-Boards, 218
Siding Upright with Battens, 96
Siding with Bevelled Clap-boards, 85
Sills Bedded in Mortar, 190
Simplicity of Cottage Life, 23
Size and Shape of Houses, 120
Sky-light, Scuttle, and Ventilator, combined, 60
Slate, best material for Roofing, 138
Slate, clipping corners of, 114
Sliding Doors, 198
Small Beginnings, 10
Southern House Requirements, 88
Space for Furniture and Wall Ornaments, 51
Space for Piano, 230
Speaking-tubes Saving Steps, 68
Spreading, in place of Stilted, Houses, 152
Squeaky Stairs, Effect, 103
Stairs Continuous to Attic, 224
Stair-Landing, near Center of House, 183
Stairs, Platform, 165
Stairs, Quarter Circle at Top, 48
Stairs, Quarter Circle, Midway their Hight, 182
Stairs to Tower, 224
Stearate of Lime, 25
Stone, Convenient Hight to Build, 150
Stone for Building, Random Dressed, 149
Stone Walls with Brick Angles, 162
Storm Doors, 41
Stucco Cornices and Centers, 219
Style determined by Roof, 49
Suggestions as to Balloon Framing, 73
Superintend’g Construction, Points, 145
Sweetening Cellars, 190
T.
Tanks secured from Frost, 95
Taste in Painting, 81
Temporary Cellar, 11
Tendency to Self-Destruction in Buildings, 191
Time allowed for Building, 217
Tinning, Raised Groove and Lock-Joint, 201
Tin, Single and Double Cross, 218
Tower and Attic, 108
Tower, Five Stories High, 221
Truss Heads for Cornices, 221
U.
Underpinning, 108
Unity in Design, 128
Unobstructed Hall, Stair Space, 210
Unsightly Out-buildings Obviated, 233
Unwholesome Vapors, 122
V.
Valleys and Gutters, 169
Ventilating Cellars, 125
Ventilation, 109
Ventilation Sewage, 151
Vertical Side Walls in Mansard Roof, 200
Vestibules, 198
Views and Principal Rooms—Rear, 171
Vines and Creepers for Decoration, 159
W.
Walks in Conservatories, 208
Walls and Chimneys interlaced, 139
Weight of Slate and Tin, 83
Well, How Constructed, 173
What Color to Paint, 75
Why Contractors Differ in Estimating, 104
Y.
Yards, Front and Rear, Fenced, 232
Yards of Carpet, 207
Year, Plumbing Warranted for a, 239
Z.
Zinc Ridge Plates, and Flashings, 138
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