The subject of practical rationality brings together a number of traditional fields of philosophy dealing with the nature of reasons for action and norms for assessing acts or agents or reasoning leading to action. Such issues play a prominent role in recent moral philosophy and philosophy of law, as well as in the theory of rational choice.

The College Park Conference on Practical Rationality will be held in the Stamp Student Union on the campus of the University of Maryland at College Park. To maximize time for discussion at the conference we have asked our six presenters to provide advance copies of their papers and to limit their talks to brief summaries, to be followed by more extended remarks by commentators.

The conference is free and open to the public. There will be no advance registration, but to facilitate room and dinner arrangements it would be helpful if we had an estimate of likely attendance. We also will need to give you a password for web access to the conference papers, which should be available by March 28th. If you expect to attend the conference and/or would like to make reservations for dinner with conference participants, please contact the UMD Philosophy Department Office.

Conference Schedule

All talks will be held in the Margaret Brent Room, 2nd floor, Stamp Student Union.

Friday, April 22

• 9:45 a.m: Welcome
• 10:00- 12:00
  Speaker: Mark Schroeder, University of Maryland at College Park, "The Humean Theory of Reasons" [abstract]
  Commentator: Mark Murphy, Georgetown University
• 12:00 - 1:30: Lunch
• 1:30-3:30
  Speaker: Joseph Raz, Columbia University and Oxford University, "The Myth of Instrumental Rationality" [abstract]
  Commentator: David Sobel, Bowling Green State University
• 4:00-6:00:
  Speaker: Michael Bratman, Stanford University, "Intention, Belief, Practical, Theoretical" [abstract]
  Commentator: Kieran Setiya, University of Pittsburgh
• Reception
• Dinner:
  Lupo's Italian Chophouse
  7416 Baltimore Ave.
  College Park, MD
  Advance reservations required.

Saturday, April 23

• 9:30-10:00 a.m: Coffee
• 10:00-12:00
  Speaker: Henry Richardson, Georgetown University, "Beyond the Balance of Reasons: Normative Requirements and Constitutive Authority" [abstract]
  Commentator: Luca Ferrero, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
• 12:00 - 1:30: Lunch
• 1:30 - 3:30
  Speaker: R. Jay Wallace, University of California at Berkeley, "The Deontic Structure of Morality" [abstract]
  Commentator: Sharon Street, New York University
• 4:00 - 6:00
  Speaker: Michael Smith, Princeton University, "'Is That All There Is?'" [abstract]
  Commentator: David Copp, University of Florida at Gainesville
• Conference Dinner
  Siri's Chef's Secret (Seafood and Thai cuisine)
  5810 Greenbelt Road
  Greenbelt, MD
  Advance reservations required.

How to Get Here:

The College Park Campus of the University of Maryland is located inside the Capital Beltway, just to the north of Washington DC. The area is served by three main airports: BWI, DCA and IAD. The closest to campus is BWI. Maps and parking information can be found on the UMD visitor information pages.

Where to Stay:

There are several hotels within about a mile of campus. For details go to the University's local hotels page. It is recommended that reservations be made well in advance. Speakers will be staying at the Quality Inn, which is right on the edge of campus; they have few availabilities at this point, but a few rooms should be opening up in late March as we adjust our bookings. Best Western College Park is a bit up the road but runs a daily shuttle to and from the University and has agreed to set aside a limited number of rooms until April 1st at a reduced rate to callers who book as members of Group #5042.