Paul Schofield (Bates College): 'What Would it Mean to Reason Second-Personally?'
We humans reason and act in light of what we owe to one another. Philosophers sometimes insist that this must involve a special “second-personal” form of reasoning. In this essay, I argue that the literature has yet to articulate satisfactorily what it would mean to reason second-personally. Then, I proceed to remedy this, offering a positive account of second-personal reason. My view is that second-personal reason must involve treating other persons, whose interests and ends are potentially opposed to one’s own, as something other than a mere object upon which to act. Much of the essay is devoted to spelling out what this means and why practical philosophy needs to make a place for this sort of reasoning.
