Human actions unfold over time, in pursuit of ends that are not fully specified in advance. Rational Powers in Action locates these features of the human condition at the heart of a new theory of instrumental rationality. Where many theories of rational agency focus on instantaneous choices between sharply defined outcomes, treating the temporally extended and partially open-ended character of action as an afterthought, this book argues that the deep structure of instrumental rationality can only be understood if we see how it governs the pursuit of long-term, indeterminate ends. These are ends that cannot be realized through a single momentary action, and whose content leaves partly open what counts as realizing the end. Sergio Tenenbaum argues that we need to focus on temporal duration and the indeterminacy of ends in intentional action, even to explain the rational governance of relatively simple actions. Theories of moment-by-moment preference maximization, or indeed any understanding of instrumental rationality on the basis of momentary mental items, cannot capture the fundamental structure of our instrumentally rational capacities. Tenenbaum provides a new theory of instrumental rationality as rationality in action.

About the Author
Sergio Tenenbaum is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Toronto. He is the editor of Desire, Practical Reason, and the Good: Classical and Contemporary Perspectives (Oxford, 2010), and the author of Appearances of the Good: An Essay on the Nature of Practical Reason (Cambridge, 2007) as well as numerous articles in ethics, practical rationality, moral psychology, and Kant's practical philosophy.

Reviews
Rational Powers in Action is a major contribution not only to philosophy but to economic theory as well. It presents many issues in a new light, and that is no mean achievement. * David Gordon, Philosophical Quarterly *
Tenenbaum's Rational Power in Action is a tour de force. With its fresh, exciting, and insightful arguments, it promises to shift the conceptual foundations of action theory away from momentary actions and choices toward thinking of those in an extended way. Theories of action or instrumental rationality must now engage this landmark work or risk obsolescence. * Nathan Howard, Ethics *
Sergio Tenenbaum's Rational Powers in Action presents a new theory of instrumental rationality . . . Tenenbaum writes in a breezy and engaging style, and the book does a good job of putting forward his theory as an attractive candidate * Seamus Bradley, Economics and Philosophy *
In his excellent new book, Rational Powers in Action . . . Sergio Tenenbaum develops a theory of instrumental rationality which goes fundamentally against the dominant approaches in the contemporary debate. . . . [a] great variety and wealth of discussions the book offers, and I very much recommend anyone interested in the topic of instrumental rationality to read it. * Erasmus Mayr, Mind *
Theories of instrumental rationality provide, roughly speaking, evaluations and imperatives regarding choice or action that figure as relative to certain basic given attitudes or stances of the agent. Such theories often abstract away from the fact that actions are generally temporally extended and from crucial complications associated with this fact. Sergio Tenenbaum's Rational Powers in Action (2020) reveals and navigates these complications with great acuity, ultimately providing a powerful revisionary picture of instrumental rationality that highlights the extremely limited nature of the standard picture (which focuses on the selection of momentary acts, chosen and effected-in auspicious cases wherein they are not blocked-at a choice point) * Chrisoula Andreou, Philosophical Inquiries *
In his excellent book, Rational Powers in Action: Instrumental Rationality and Extended Agency, Sergio Tenenbaum lays out a highly ambitious, original, and powerful theory of instrumental rationality, which he calls the "extended theory of instrumental rationality" * John Brunero, Philosophical Inquiries *
Rational Powers in Action is a brilliant book. It is an extensive, resourceful, enjoyably-written articulation and defense of a genuinely new theory of instrumental rationality. It seeks to overthrow the tyranny of orthodox decision theory, understood as a theory of instrumental rationality, but it does so from within a profound grasp of that tradition. Further, the book takes aim at the relatively widespread view that "future-directed intentions" are attitudes governed by distinctive rational norms of non-reconsideration and persistence. Those who are inclined to continue holding these views-like myself, in the latter case-will have to contend going forward with Tenenbaum's powerful arguments against them. * Sarah Paul, Philosophical Inquiries *
Sergio Tenenbaum's excellent new book Rational Powers in Action raises a powerful challenge to mainstream theories of instrumental rationality. * Erasmus Mayr, Philosophical Inquiries *



Book Information
ISBN 9780198889564
Author Sergio Tenenbaum
Format Paperback
Page Count 272
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 344g
Dimensions(mm) 216mm * 138mm * 15mm