Broome on Reasons to Act

Abstract

In Rationality Through Reasoning, John Broome explores the nature of reasons, rationality, and what he calls “the central ought.” His discussion is rich in distinctions, arguments, and controversial claims. It is also dauntingly rigorous: I am sure I have not mastered Broome’s system. In what follows, I risk some tentative questions about its application to ethics, raising objections and offering an alternative view. There is a lot in Broome’s meticulous, wide-ranging book that I will not address.