Starting from Kant's striking question 'What is orientation in thinking?', this book argues that the main challenge facing global normative theorising lies in its failure to acknowledge its conceptual inadequacies. We do not know how to reason globally; instead, we tend to apply our domestic political experiences to the global context. Katrin Flikschuh argues that we must develop a form of global reasoning that is sensitive to the variability of contexts: rather than trying to identify a uniquely shareable set of substantive principles, we need to appreciate and understand local reasons for action. Her original and incisive study shows how such reasoning can benefit from the open-ended nature of Kant's systematic but non-dogmatic philosophical thinking, and from reorientation from a domestic to a non-domestic frame of thought. It will appeal to all those interested in global moral issues, as well as to Kant scholars.

Uses Kant's philosophical method to show how global justice theories depend on acknowledgement of the intelligibility of contextually alien thought.

About the Author
Katrin Flikschuh is Professor of Modern Political Theory at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She is the author of Kant and Modern Political Philosophy (Cambridge, 2000) and Freedom: Contemporary Liberal Perspectives (2007).


Book Information
ISBN 9781107003811
Author Katrin Flikschuh
Format Hardback
Page Count 262
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 500g
Dimensions(mm) 235mm * 156mm * 19mm