Constructivism Flashcards
(18 cards)
what is constructivism?
the idea that knowledge and reality are not objective but are actively created or constructed by individuals and societies through their experiences and interactions.
What is a categorical imperative?
the thing that has the features a categorical imperative must have (according to Korsgaard)
two features:
objective and authoritative
What are Korsgaard’s 3 criterion for authoritativeness?
Korsgaard’s three criterion for an authoritative standard:
1. first personal criterion
2. Transparency Criterion
3. identity criterion
what is the first personal criterion for Korsgaard’s three criterion for an authoritative standard?
a standard must address the agent who genuinely doubts why they must conform to that standard
what is the transparency criterion for Korsgaard’s three criterion for an authoritative standard?
the standard must be one that the agent would not need to be tricked into conforming into
what is the identity criterion for Korsgaard’s three criterion for an authoritative standard?
the standard must be one such that failing to conform to it could be bad or worse than death: it must appeal to a core identity, a description of yourself in virtue of which of your life is worth living
what is practical reality according to Kant?
the laws of freedom. An irreducibly normative, first person realm, that is essentially perspectival. If moral truth is practical in Kant’s sense, then it is dependent upon (constructed of) the conclusions practically rational agent would reach through deliberation, or dependent upon facts about freedom, agency, and practical reason (concepts that Kant thinks make no sense described third-personally)
what is theoretical reality according to Kant?
the laws of science. Descriptive, third person realm, that is essentially perspective-less. if moral truth is theoretical, then it is fixed independent of the conclusions that practically rational agents would reach through deliberation. What way agents should deliberate itself depends upon what those truths are.
What is reflective consciousness? (hint* 2 things that make 1)
a kind of consciousness that
a. takes itself as its objective (can make an object of itself and abstract/reason)
b. is the type of consciousness possessed by beings with a will, that are practically rational
you can choose to act on it or not
(a) and (b) are the same things
a kind of rationality — subjects thought and action to rational scrutiny
being able to make an object of your attitudes is being able to ask the question: what should I believe? what should I do?
Why is the will practical reason?
is it rational to eat a yummy baby to satisfy my desire? No.
What is an identity for Korsgaard, and how is it related to the idea of a higher order principle?
if an agent is free, they cannot act without endorsing some identity/law
P1: assume that an agent is free
P2: to be free is to ask ‘why’? until one gets a satisfying answer
P3: asking ‘why’? will lead an agent to need to endorse a practical identity
C: if an agent is free, she must endorse some practical identity
Why must a free will endorse some identity?
P1: assume that an agent is free
P2: to be free is to ask ‘why’? until one gets a satisfying answer
P3: asking ‘why’? will lead an agent to need to endorse a practical identity
C: if an agent is free, she must endorse some practical identity
What is the relation between identity and one’s reasons?
identity: being a student
reasons: doing the readings ahead of class, attending class, taking tests, etc.
if you reject your identity, you won’t have the same reasons to live your life
possible way of expressing that identity
EX: if you identify as a student, you have reason to do homework
What is the relation between identity and one’s obligations? What does this have to do with constitutive norms?
you have an obligation to act according to identity if the norm would be constitutive of that identity
EX: if your identity is as a student, and you have an obligation not to cheat, that’s because not cheating is part of what it is to be a student.
If you just have a REASON to do the thing, it’s not a constitutive norm
if you have an OBLIGATION to do the thing, it is a constitutive norm, because it’s not an optional part of your identity
How does freedom give rise to a regress problem?
if you are truly free, why can’t you just keep going?
i.e.,: you should do that, why? Because you are a student. BUT WHY BE A STUDENT?
How do Kant/Korsgaard resolve the regress?What does this have to do with constitutive norms?
Kant and Korsgaard will aim to escape the infinite regress by arguing that the categorical imperative is a constitutive feature of action, that acting just is being guided by the categorical imperative
If the categorical imperative is constitutive of action, how can one fail to act on it?
you can fail to act on it by failing to do what your identity calls for
EX: if your identity is being a student, you would fail to act on it by never attending class.
How is failing to act on a constitutive standard irrational?
what’s an example of this?
What is constitutive of an activity is adopting the rule that rationally commits one to behave in certain ways. But, even if one has adapted the rule, you may fail to behave in those ways you mess up. In other words, you are irrational.
i.e.: A roof is constitutive for a house. What if you use your roof shingles to tile your bathroom, so now you have no roof. This is irrational
there is something irrational about using the roof shingles to tile your bathroom
