ABSTRACT

In recent discussions of the Humean Theory of Motivation (HTM), several authors – not to mention other philosophers around the proverbial water cooler – have appealed to the simplicity of the theory to defend it. But the argument from simplicity has rarely been explicated or received much critical attention – until now. I begin by reconstructing the argument and then argue that it suffers from a number of problems. Most importantly, first, I argue that HTM is unlikely to be simpler than even close competing theories, and second, it is unlikely that a plausible version of the theory will be very simple. Moreover, I argue that a convincing case for HTM is likely to have to show that it is more virtuous than defenders have done so far.

摘要

在最近对休谟动机理论 ( HTM)的讨论中，几位作者——更不用说围绕众所周知的饮水机的其他哲学家——呼吁该理论的简单性为其辩护。但是，从简单性出发的论点很少得到解释或受到太多批评——直到现在。我首先重构这个论点，然后论证它存在许多问题。最重要的是，首先，我认为HTM不太可能比甚至相互竞争的理论更简单，其次，该理论的合理版本不太可能非常简单。此外，我认为HTM的一个令人信服的案例可能必须表明它比迄今为止的捍卫者所做的更有道德。