Abstract

What distinguishes our actions from mere happenings? In virtue of what does a fact qualify as a reason for us to do one thing rather than another? Recent philosophical attempts to answer these questions appeal to our capacity to reflect on our own dispositions. But these appeals give rise to regress problems. This essay calls attention to the extent to which Kierkegaard anticipates both the answers and the problems. It also highlights the lesson Kierkegaard draws from the problems: insofar as we are not alienated from our own responses to our circumstances, this is because we are relating to these responses (be they our motives or our normative assessments) “by relating to God.” In following his argument, we are forced to consider the role that a commitment to a transcendent point of view plays in our apprehension of reasons for action.