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I am an assistant professor of philosophy at Macalester College, in St. Paul, Minnesota. I received my PhD from Stanford and my BA from Swarthmore.
I specialize in ethics, metaethics, and the philosophy of action. My primary philosophical interests concern metaphysical and ethical questions about human deliberation and motivation. I've written on topics including normative reasons, practical reasoning, normative judgment, action, intention, and shared agency. My other philosophical interests are very broad, and include bioethics, epistemology, free will and moral responsibility, philosophy of law, philosophy of mind and cognitive science, philosophy of race and gender, philosophy of psychiatry, and political philosophy. In Spring 2020, I'm teaching ethics and philosophy of race and gender. Outside of philosophy, I like cooking, baking, running, and playing and listening to música Brasileira. I live in Minneapolis with my partner, Rebecca, and our sourdough starter, Adoniran. C.V.? Here. E-mail? sasarnow [at] macalester [dot] edu Asarnow? uh-SAR-no (/ʌˈsɑr noʊ/) Pronouns? he/him or they/them |
Fig. 1: Standing in front of art
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Published Articles5. Shared Agency without Shared Intention
The Philosophical Quarterly (vol. and pages TBD) [draft] I argue that creatures who lack plan-laden intentions, and whose agency is thus not temporally extended, may enjoy forms of social interaction that can creditably be called "shared agency." My framework for modeling these agents leads naturally to a formula for producing novel hypotheses about the social capacities of great apes and other sophisticated non-human agents. 4. Internal Reasons and the Boy Who Cried Wolf Ethics 130, 1: 32-58 (2019) [final] This is my attempt to explain why you shouldn't be a reasons internalist (or a subjectivist about normative reasons, for that matter). In brief: seemingly powerful sources of appeal for that view evaporate once you get clear about the distinction between objective and subjective reasons. You can find a critical precis and discussion of this paper on the Pea Soup blog. 3. On Not Getting Out of Bed Philosophical Studies 176, 6: 1639-1666 (2019) [final; draft] [Published online in March 2018] How does intention lead to action? I have no idea. This paper tries to capture my confusion about that question by describing a new puzzle about intentions. Please let me know if you think of a solution! 2. The Reasoning View and Defeasible Practical Reasoning Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 95, 3: 614-636 (2017) [final; draft] This paper presents my favorite version of the Reasoning View about normative reasons, responds to an objection, and argues that the norms of practical reasoning are defeasible or non-monotonic (just like the norms of theoretical reasoning). 1. Rational Internalism Ethics 127, 1: 147-178 (2016) [final] This is my attempt to explain why you shouldn't accept an objectivist ("value based") theory of normative reasons. In brief: you should accept the Reasoning View instead, as the Reasoning View is compatible with the standard motivations for objectivism while being far more plausible from an action-theoretic perspective. Book Reviews2. Review of Tim Henning, From a Rational Point of View
Ethics 130, 1: 113-118 (2019) [final] 1. Review of David Sobel, From Valuing to Value The Philosophical Review 128, 2 (246-249) (2019) [final; draft] Work in ProgressTo help preserve anonymity in the review process, I don't post the titles of my unpublished work here. But if you're looking for a visiting speaker or referee, this should give you a sense of what I'm working on. In some cases drafts are available upon request.
Papers currently under review A paper on intention and normative judgment. A paper on motivating reasons and the Reasoning View. A paper on subjective reasons and the Reasoning View. Papers I'm working on this semester A handbook article on motivational internalism and desire. A paper on moral responsibility and psychosis. A paper on squeamishness. Other work (more or less) in progress A paper on reasons-responsiveness theories of moral responsibility. A paper laying out the master argument for the Reasoning View. A paper on functionalism and the requirements of rationality. A paper on permissivism and irrationality. A paper on forgetfulness. Some day... A book about the Reasoning View. A collection of essays cataloging my vices. A book on consequentialism, the doctrine of double effect, and intention. |
Fig. 2: Winter in St. Paul, Minnesota
Fig. 3: Winter in São Paulo, Brasil
Fig. 4: Some rye bread
Fig. 5: Sourdough made from Baker's Field flour.
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keywords: samuel asarnow, sam asarnow, asarnow
