Desire Practical Reason and the Good

<p>Most philosophers working in moral psychology and practical reason think that either the notion of "good" or the notion of "desire" have central roles to play in our understanding of intentional explanations and practical reasoning. However philosophers disagree sharply over how we are supposed to understand the notions of "desire" and "good" how these notions relate and whether both play a significant and independent role in practical reason. In particular the "Guise of the Good" thesis -- the view that desire (or perhaps intention or intentional action) always aims at the good - has received renewed attention in the last twenty years. Can one have desire for things that the desirer does not perceive to be good in any or form intentions to act in way that one does not deem to be good? Does the notion of good play any essential role in an account of deliberation or practical reason? Moreover philosophers also disagree about the relevant notion of good. Is it a purely formal notion or does it involve a substantive conception of the good? Is the primary notion the notion of the good for a particular agent or the notion of good simpliciter? Does the relevant notion of good make essential appeal to human nature or would it in principle extend to all rational beings? While these questions are central in contemporary work in ethics practical reason and philosophy of action they are not new; similar issues were discussed in the ancient period. This volume of essays aims to bring together "systematic" and more historically-oriented work on these issues.</p>