Pettit presents a selection of essays touching upon metaphysics, philosophical psychology, and the theory of rational regulation. The first part of the book discusses the rule-following character of thought. The second considers how choice can be responsive to different sorts of factors, while still being under the control of thought. The third examines the implications of this view of choice and rationality for the normative regulation of social behavior.

• Rules and Thoughts


• I.1: The Reality of Rule-following


• I.2: Realism and Response-dependence


• I.3: Noumenalism and Response-dependence


• I.4: Defining and Defending Social Holism


• I.5: A Theory of Normal and Ideal Conditions


• Reasons and Choice


• II.1: Three Aspects of Rational Explanation


• II.2: Decision Theory and Folk Psychology


• II.3: The Virtual Reality of Homo Economicus


• II.4: Functional Explanation and Virtual Selection


• II.5: The Capacity to Have Done Otherwise


• Norms and Regulation


• III.1: Rational Choice Regulation: Two Strategies


• III.2: Virtus Normativa: Rational Choice Perspectives


• III.3: The Cunning of Trust


• III.4: Enfranchising Silence


• III.5: Instituting a Research Ethic: Chilling And Cautionary Tales

Philip Pettit teaches political theory and philosophy at Princeton, where he is Professor of Politics. He moved to Princeton in 2002 from the Australian National University.