Requirements, Oughts, Intentions

John Broome’s Rationality Through Reasoning is a book of tremendous scope, moving from foundational questions about reasons, requirements, and oughts to more general issues concerning the architecture of a rational agent and, especially, the process of reasoning through which such an agent could bring itself to satisfy the requirements of rationality. Although Broome explores a number of these requirements, he is particularly interested in one he calls enkrasia, according to which rationality requires an agent to intend to do what that agent believes he or she ought to do. I agree with most of what Broome says in this book, and I admire all of it, even when I do not agree, for its forthright, constructive approach, and for its clarity. My remarks will be limited to a few areas in which I think ideas from the book might be developed in more detail, or pushed further.