Dimensions of Practical Necessity

"Here I Stand. I Can Do No Other."

Katharina Bauer, Somogy Varga, Corinna Mieth, Katharina Bauer, Somogy Varga, Corinna Mieth

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9783319523972
• eBook ISBN: 9783319523989
• Topic: Philosophy
• Subtopic: Ethics & Moral Philosophy

This collection of essays provides the first systematic investigation of practical necessity and offers novel perspectives on this intriguing phenomenon. While debates on necessity often take place in the realm of metaphysics, there is a form of necessity that is pertinent to practicalphilosophy. "Here I stand. I can do no other, " a phrase habitually attributed to Martin Luther, is often interpreted as revealing underlying normative reasons that exhibit a special kind of necessitating force, experienced as an inescapable constraint by the agent. However, one of the features that make this phenomenon so fascinating is that this constraint is often deciphered as stemming from a form of necessitation that articulates the agent's autonomy or practical identity. Luther's saying serves as a leitmotif for an exploration of different claims and challenges related to practical necessity. As the complex philosophical investigations are based on familiar, everyday experiences the book is accessible to any academic readership.

Table of contents

• Contents
• List of Contributors
• Chapter 1: Dimensions of Practical Necessity: An Introduction
• Part I: Examples: The Necessity of Love and the Unforgivable
• Part II: Normative Claims: Personal Practical Necessity and Practical Identities
• Part III: Normative Challenges: Vice and Akrasia
• Part IV: Volitional and Psychological Challenges: Ambiguity, Psychopathy, and Shame
• Part V: Concluding Evaluations
• Index