Instrumental Rationality and Moral Philosophy

This book deals with a fundamental problem in political and moral philosophy: why should an otherwise rational agent comply with norms? The book is unique in that it deals with this question against the background of previously unconnected work in areas as diverse as evolutionary game theory, moral philosophy, action theory, formal decision theory, and social psychology. The author argues that standard rational choice analyses fail to explain several crucial features of norm-guided behavior. A complete analysis of the reasons rational agents have for compliance with norms has to include an account of specific virtues, such as trust and fairness. In order to accommodate these virtues in the theory of rational choice, Verbeek argues that we need to give up the inherently forward-looking character of instrumentally rational deliberation. Audience: This book will be of interest to students, philosophers, and economists, as well as other social theorists interested in norms.