If you want to do E and believe that your doing M is causally necessary for you to do E, then reason directs that you do M.
If you want to do E and believe that your doing M is causally necessary for you to do E, then reason directs that you do M.
This principle leads to absurdities, since then reason would tell the madman to blow up the H-bomb and it would tell Ima Student to do incompatible things (studying and not studying).
Ends-means rationality is better seen as a species of consistency. Reason directs us not to have an inconsistency between our desires, beliefs, and actions.
If you want to do E and believe that your doing M is causally necessary for you to do E, then reason directs that you do M.
This principle leads to absurdities, since then reason would tell the madman to blow up the H-bomb and it would tell Ima Student to do incompatible things (studying and not studying).
Ends-means rationality is better seen as a species of consistency. Reason directs us not to have an inconsistency between our desires, beliefs, and actions.