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Behavioral and Brain Sciences Behavioral and Brain Sciences

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“Defeaters” don't matter

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2018

Zina B. Ward  and
Edouard Machery
Zina B. Ward
Affiliation:
Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260 zina.b.ward@pitt.edu http://zinabward.com
Edouard Machery
Affiliation:
Department of History and Philosophy of Science and the Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260. machery@pitt.edu www.edouardmachery.com
Corresponding
E-mail address:
zina.b.ward@pitt.edu
machery@pitt.edu
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Abstract

We argue that the exercise of agency is compatible with the presence of what Doris calls “defeaters.” In order to undermine reflectivist theories of agency and support his valuational alternative, Doris must not simply show that defeaters exist but rather establish that some agentive behaviors do express a person's values without involving reflection.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 41 , 2018 , e63
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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