Clarke’s Account of the Distinction between Practical and Cognitive Decisions

Abstract

While it is common for philosophers of action to claim that there is a distinction between practical and cognitive decisions, it is not so common for them to explain exactly what that distinction consists in. One exception is Clarke (2010), who argues that there are at least three important differences between practical and cognitive decisions. In particular, he claims that (a) practical decisions are based on practical reasons whereas cognitive decisions are based on epistemic reasons, (b) practical decisions have the phenomenology of agency while cognitive decisions do not, and (c) practical decisions are intentional actions while cognitive decisions are not. In this article I challenge Clarke’ s arguments in support of each of these claims and show that none of them withstands scrutiny. I conclude that Clarke (2010) fails to provide any reason to believe that there is an important difference between practical and cognitive decisions.