Teleological Structures in Human Life: Essays for Anselm W. Müller

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This is the first collection of essays devoted to the thought of Anselm W. Müller. It brings to the attention of the English-speaking world an influential and highly regarded philosopher who has made important contributions to a wide range of philosophical debates. Arguably, Müller’s most important contributions are to the philosophy of action and virtue ethics. The contributors, who include friends, colleagues, and former students, engage with different aspects of Müller’s thought in these areas. Subjects include his interpretation of Aristotle and Wittgenstein, the teleology of thought and action, the Aristotelian distinction between poiēsis and praxis and its application to ethical upbringing, and the possibility of practical knowledge and practical truth. Teleological Structures in Human Life will be of interest to researches and advanced students working on virtue ethics, philosophy of action, and practical reasoning. Cover Endorsements Page Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Introduction I.1 Biography I.2 Overview of Müller’s Philosophy I.2.1 Mental Teleology I.2.2 Acting and Acting Well I.2.3 Practical Thought I.2.4 The Radical Subjectivity of Practical Thought I.2.5 Reasons as Right-Makers I.2.6 Backward-Looking Reasons I.2.7 On Practical Certainty I.2.8 Anthropological Embedding of Practical Reason I.2.9 Justifications and Upbringing Notes Bibliography Chapter 1: Wittgenstein and Aristotle at Oxford 1.1 Philosophy of Mind 1.2 Metaphysics 1.3 Ethics Notes Bibliography Chapter 2: Anscombe on the Voluntary Character of Negligence 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Anscombe on Intention and Practical Knowledge 2.3 Anscombe on the Voluntary and Practical Knowledge 2.4 Anscombe on Omissions and Voluntary Ignorance 2.5 Conclusion Notes Bibliography Chapter 3: Practical Reasoning and Practical Truth 3.1 Practical Inference 3.2 Choice and Wish 3.3 Thought in Action and Practical Truth Notes Bibliography Chapter 4: Conscience and Praxis Part 1 Conscience through the Lens of Practical Rationality 4.1.1 Aristotelian Praxis: Fully Valued Action 4.1.2 Ancient vs. Modern 4.1.3 Practical Reasoning 4.1.4 Conscience and Praxis; Having Values 4.1.5 Conscience Demoralized? Badness, Unity, and Conscience Part 2 Practical Rationality through the Lens of Conscience 4.2.1 Road Trip 4.2.2 Complexity of Practical Rationality: A Snapshot 4.2.3 Aristotle: Sunesis 4.2.4 Socrates: The Practices of Conscience 4.2.5 Self-Composition Notes Bibliography Chapter 5: Having the Meaning of Life in View 5.1 Introduction Part I 5.2 The Meaning of Life as an Ultimate Goal? 5.3 Occasion-Oriented Motives 5.4 Acting Well and Practical Reasoning 5.5 Nonintentional Teleology 5.6 The Meaning of Life Doesn’t Justify Morality Part II 5.7 Background Motives 5.8 The Threefold Goal of Practical Reasoning 5.9 The Unity of the Virtues and the Unity of a Life 5.10 Is the Meaning of Life Acknowledged or Accepted? 5.11 Going Beyond Müller’s Texts 5.12 Conclusion Notes Bibliography Chapter 6: Should Intro Ethics Make You a Better Person? 6.1 Introduction 6.2 A Practicality Requirement for Moral Theory? 6.3 Consciousness of Moral Theory as Necessary for Good Actions? 6.4 The Practicality Requirement Formalized 6.5 Our Options 6.6 Consciousness as Holding a Premise 6.7 Consciousness as Required to Draw Inferences 6.8 Acting Well and Thinking Straight about It 6.9 Conclusion Notes Bibliography Chapter 7: Ethical Naturalism and the Guise of the Good 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Foot’s Recognitional Naturalism 7.3 The Guise of the Good 7.4 Sophisticated Naturalism 7.5 The Cause of What It Understands? 7.6 Conclusion Acknowledgments Notes References Chapter 8: On the Mystical Point of Virtue 8.1 Teleological Structures of Practices 8.1.1 What Is the Point of a Practice? 8.1.2 Virtues as Practices 8.1.3 On How (Not) to Reflect on the Point of a Practice 8.1.4 Why Worry about the Point? 8.2 What Is Supra-Utilitarian (or Even Mystical) about Some Virtues? 8.2.1 The Utilitarian Argument on Behalf of the Rest of Us 8.2.2 On the Point of Virtue 8.2.3 What about Flourishing? 8.3 After All, Why Mystical? Notes Bibliography Chapter 9: Is Moral Education a Craft?: Poiesis, Praxis, and Ethical Upbringing 9.1 Socrates’s Question to Callias 9.2 Müller on Ethical Upbringing 9.3 Poietic Actions, Poietic Practices, and Ethical Upbringing 9.4 A Craft of Child-Raising? 9.5 What Sort of Knowledge Does a Virtuous Parent Need? 9.6 Coda: Character, Accountability, and Self-Constitution Notes Works Cited Chapter 10: Certainty and Possibility 10.1 Puzzles Concerning Certainty 10.2 The Grammatical Terrain 10.3 Certainty and Possibility 10.4 The Certainty of People and the Certainty of Things 10.5 The Certainty of a Person Is Not a Relation Between a Person and a Proposition 10.6 Certainty and Knowledge 10.7 A Vindication of Connective Analysis Notes Bibliography Chapter 11: Grounding and Support: Foundations, Coherence, and “Deep Disagreement” in Ludwig Wittgenstein 11.1 “Deep Disagreement”—A Case of Arationality? 11.2 Grounding and Support 11.3 Support/Coherence as a Criterion of Rationality 11.4 Support, Practice, and “Deep Disagreement” Notes Bibliography Bibliography of A. W. Müller A. Books B. Editions C. Articles in German D. Articles in English E. Book Reviews F. Varia Index