Wanting what’s not best

Philosophical Studies 179 (4):1275-1296 (2021)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a novel account of desire reports, i.e. sentences of the form 'S wants p'. Our theory is partly motivated by Phillips-Brown's (2021) observation that subjects can desire things even if those things aren't best by the subject's lights. That is, being best isn't necessary for being desired. We compare our proposal to existing theories, and show that it provides a neat account of the central phenomenon.

Author Profiles

Kyle H. Blumberg
University of Melbourne
John Hawthorne
University of Southern California

Analytics

Added to PP
2021-07-10

Downloads
611 (#35,841)

6 months
89 (#63,840)

Historical graph of downloads since first upload
This graph includes both downloads from PhilArchive and clicks on external links on PhilPapers.
How can I increase my downloads?