Self-Respect Regained

In a recent article, David Christensen casts aspersions on a restricted version of van Fraassen’s Reflection principle, which he dubs ‘Self-Respect’ (SR). Rejecting two possible arguments for SR, he concludes that the principle does not constitute a requirement of rationality. In this paper we argue that, not only has Christensen failed to make a case against the aforementioned arguments, but that considerations pertaining to Moore’s paradox indicate that SR, or at the very least a mild weakening thereof, is indeed a plausible normative principle.

Publication year:2011