In Praise of Desire

Nomy Arpaly received her Ph.D. from Stanford University and is now Associate Professor of Philosophy at Brown University. She is the author of Unprincipled Virtue (OUP 2002) as well as Merit, Meaning, and Human Bondage (2006) and various articles.Timothy Schroeder grew up on the Canadian prairies, an environment that afforded him plenty of time for philosophical speculation. He received his B.A. from the University of Lethbridge and his Ph.D. from Stanford University, and is now Associate Professor of Philosophy at Ohio State University.

• IntroductionSection I: ReasonChapter 1: DeliberationChapter 2: How Deliberation WorksChapter 3: Thinking and Acting for ReasonsSection II: DesireChapter 4: Love and CareChapter 5: What Desires Are NotChapter 6: What Desires AreSection III: VirtueChapter 7: Credit and BlameChapter 8: VirtueChapter 9: Virtue and CognitionSection IV: PuzzlesChapter 10: Inner StruggleChapter 11: AddictionConclusionWorks Cited Index

Praise of Desire combines Arpaly and Schroeder's treat strengths to produce a book populated with engaging and naturalistic examples, argued with great systematic sophistication... The authors powerfully illuminate the nature and importance of the role played by the aspect under which we undertake actions in determining whether we count as responding fittingly to the situations in which we find ourselves and the amount of praise and blame due us for doing so.