Striving

To strive is to pursue a difficult, long-term goal in the face of uncertainty. Much of our agency is ultimately directed at complex, temporally extended ends such as career aspirations, athletic or artistic ambitions, long-term relationships, and political goals. We often set out to pursue such ends in the knowledge that they are difficult to achieve and without knowing at the outset whether it will be within our power to succeed. Along the way, we gather evidence about our abilities, our circumstances, and about the kinds of obstacles we are likely to encounter. We turn to our friends, partners, teachers, and coaches for their perspectives on our prospects. If substantial uncertainty about the outcome persists, however, we face a choice: whether to persevere or give up. In Striving, Jennifer M. Morton and Sarah K. Paul examine this dynamic primarily through an epistemic lens, illuminating the ways in which difficult attempts are at the same time a kind of inquiry. How should the agent think about the likelihood of succeeding, and the possibility of failure, in light of the often-indeterminate evidence she has? How should she interpret her evidence in situations of adversity? When should she make backup plans, and when should she conclude that she has done enough and that it is time to give up? Through the lens of striving agency, new insights emerge for our understanding of agency, epistemology, rationality, and self-knowledge.