Constructing Authorities: Reasons, Politics and Interpretation in Kant's Philosophy 1

This collection of essays brings together the central lines of thought in Onora O'Neill's work on Kant's philosophy, developed over many years. Challenging the claim that Kant's attempt to provide a critique of reason fails because it collapses into a dogmatic argument from authority, O'Neill shows why Kant held that we must construct, rather than assume, the authority of reason, and how this can be done by ensuring that anything we offer as reasons can be followed by others, including others with whom we disagree. She argues that this constructivist view of reasoning is the clue to Kant's claims about knowledge, ethics and politics, as well as to his distinctive accounts of autonomy, the social contract, cosmopolitan justice and scriptural interpretation. Her essays are a distinctive and illuminating commentary on Kant's fundamental philosophical strategy and its implications, and will be a vital resource for scholars of Kant, ethics and philosophy of law.-- Provided by Publisher Contents Part I: Authority in reasoning Chapter 1 Vindicating Reason Chapter 2 Kant: rationality as practical reason Chapter 3 Kant's conception of public reason Chapter 4 Constructivism in Rawls and Kant Chapter 5 Changing constructions Part II: Authority, autonomy and public reason Chapter 6 Autonomy: the Emperor's New Clothes Chapter 7 Self-legislation, autonomy and the form of law Chapter 8 Autonomy and public reason in Kant, Habermas and Rawls Part III: Authority in politics Chapter 9 Orientation in thinking: geographical problems, political solutions Chapter 10 Kant and Social Contract tradition Chapter 11 Historical trends and human futures Chapter 12 Cosmopolitanism then and now Part IV Authority in interpretation Chapter 13 Kant on reason and religion I: reasoned hope Chapter 14 Kant on reason and religion II: reason and interpretation Index A vital resource for Kant scholars, this collection of essays brings together the central lines of thought in Onora O'Neill's work on Kant's philosophy, arguing for a constructivist view of Kant's account of reasoning. It forms an illuminating commentary of Kant's fundamental philosophical strategy and its implications for ethics, politics, justice and autonomy.