Aspiration: The Agency of Becoming by Agnes CallardMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
What kind of book is this?
This is an expository work.
Rational & Why I read this book
I have a Substack called Fractal Productivity and wanted to deepen my knowledge of "aspiration" before writing an essay series on vertical life sculpting
The unity of the book — what is the book about as a whole?
This book is a philosophical account of why aspiration (defined as "large-scale transformative pursuits" and "a gradual process of value change") should be seen as a form of "practically rational agency". Put simply: the book shows how and why people who aspire actively shape their future selves throughintentional efforts. Aspiration, according to the author, should be seen as something rational rather than irrational or arational, as it currently seems to be perceived by philosophers.
The book's structure
The book spans a long introduction and 6 chapters across 277 pages. It is further divided into three parts, each of which houses two chapters. These parts are "practical rationality", "moral psychology" and "moral responsibility". I completed a reading of the whole book but analytically focused most on part 1.
One particular lesson
One particularly interesting concept Callard posits is "proleptic reasons." This is a new "species" of reason that allows us to explain why something as vague and distant and not fully present in the aspirant's mind could considered "rational." Proleptic reasons capture the fact (?) that one can act rationally even when one doesn't know fully one's reason for doing something or if one knows one's reasons for doing it isn't exactly the right one. A proleptic reason for doing something is a reason where an agent acts on a rudimentary, anticipatory, and indirect "grasp" of something. The person's knowledge and development areprovisional. Callard argues that aspirations are based on agents' proleptic reasons.
Judgement & Recommendations - Who should read this?
I'm neither a philosopher nor an academic, and English is not my mother tongue. This book would still be hard to read even if all of this were the case. A big part was the overly awkward writing style! I certainly also lack the knowledge of philosophy and perfect English skills. Granted, the reading went much smoother on the second pass (done immediately after the first). After summarizing the book (at least part 1), I now feel that I have a somewhat firm grasp of what Callard is trying to say. And I have to say, it immediately impacted my way of viewing aspirations and values. Still, I can't rate this book higher than a 7/10 on my personal rating scale, which means this is a "Good read, despite minor weaknesses; generally recommended". The ideas are powerful, but the packaging feels off to non-philosophers and non-academics without English as a mother tongue.
Positive points
- As far as I can tell, Callard makes compelling arguments. At this point, I cannot refute any of her points.
- Callard's ideas are high caliber, and she has given this topic much thought.
- Callard is humble, and the book is more of a defense than a series of claims.
Negative points
- Callard's writing style is really hard to digest. I understood less than 70% of it on the first pass, maybe less.
- the book could have been carved down significantly without losing power.
Misc. comments and other remarks
I don't recommend this book unless you are motivated to understand the philosophy of aspiration. Luckily, I was highly motivated to understand the book (see rationale above), but it took me almost two months to complete it because the writing style led me to procrastinate.
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