Personal ideals and the ideal of rational agency¹

Abstract All of us have personal ideals. We are committed to being good (enough) friends, parents, neighbors, teachers, citizens, human beings, and more. In this paper, I examine the thick thin aspects these ideals: (i) their substance (to internalize an ideal is endorse a particular way being) (ii) accountability reason assume that really be). considering how two interact in rational agency, address philosophical debates generally conducted isolation each other: over anti‐ideal normative “fetishism” whether acting for “under guise good.” final sections further explore relations among thin. note role coherence constraints play process whereby our ideals gain determinacy. At same time, argue, constrain possibility desirability coherence. This has implications third debate: debate moral dilemmas.