Prudence as a System of Categorical Imperatives

Abstract This chapter examines whether there are prudential reasons. After clarifying the nature of prudential reasons (what it would take for there to be such reasons) it examines, and rejects, various positions that entail the denial of the existence of prudential reasons. These include forms of nihilism about prudential value, the view that all reasons are agent-neutral, and (its most pressing opponent) the view that all reasons are Humean, or fundamentally desire-based, in nature. The chapter aims to establish the following thesis: Prudential Value Matters (PVM) — Evaluative prudential facts generate directive prudential facts (including facts about prudential, normative, reasons for action and for attitudes).