Abstract

This is an ambitious book. Onora O'Neill argues for an interpretation of the Critical philosophy as a whole which recognizes the categorical imperative as the first principle of theoretical as well as practical reason. She offers an interpretation of Kantian ethics which attempts to answer the central charges that have been brought against it since the critiques of Mill and Hegel: empty formalism and moral rigorism. She enters into dialogue with contemporary positions both hostile and sympathetic to Kant's practical philosophy. In both cases the claim is made that Kant has resources that would enable MacIntyre's communitarian and Rawls's constructionist positions to complete their own projects.