Ambition, devotion, and surrender
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21592012 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sarah K Paul (0000-0001-8644-3782, New York University Abu Dhabi, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 39 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 13-31 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Philosophical Psychology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0951-5089 • E-ISSN: 1465-394X |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/09515089.2025.2520871 |
| OpenAlex | W4411424610 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 14 |
This paper argues that within the set of ends that are deeply significant to us, and that give our practical lives much of their structure, there is a spectrum of ways in which we can be committed to those ends and the activities we undertake in service of them. Beginning with the temporally disintegrated rational chooser, whose commitment to his ends is conditional on its being supported by his reasons at each moment, we can construct progressively less contingent forms of commitment by making the agent less sensitive to short-term alterations or gaps in his (perceived) reasons. We eventually reach the orientation of devotion. The paper argues that there is a form of devotion that involves a phenomenon that might be called “surrender”, and attempts to understand what that phenomenon is
Cognitive science · Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Law and economics · Political science · Sociology · Surrender · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology · Socioeconomic Development in Asia · Theological Perspectives and Practices
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |