Onora O'Neill

When the perfect couple's marriage is threatened by the appearance of a sultry fashion model, are there any right choices? In 1950s London, Tom Knelston is charismatic, charming, with a passion for politics and reform. He is a man with ambition--and someone to watch. His wife Alice, a former nurse, shares his ideals. It seems they are the perfect match.--"Seductively readable" (The Times) is a luscious, page-turning read about a precarious situation--both utterly compelling and hugely rewarding.

Knowledge aims to fit the world, and action to change it. In this collection of essays, Onora O'Neill explores the relationship between these concepts and shows that principles are not enough for ethical thought or action: we also need to understand how practical judgement identifies ways of enacting them and of changing the way things are. Both ethical and technical judgement are supported, she contends, by bringing to bear multiple considerations, ranging from ethical principles to real-world constraints, and while we will never find practical algorithms - let alone ethical algorithms - that resolve moral and political issues, good practical judgement can bring abstract principles to bear in situations that call for action. Her essays thus challenge claims that all inquiry must use either the empirical methods of scientific inquiry or the interpretive methods of the humanities. They will appeal to a range of readers in moral and political philosophy.

"'Two things', wrote Kant, 'fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe: the starry heavens above and the moral law within'. Many would argue that since Kant's day, the study of the starry heavens has advanced while ethics has stagnated, and in particular that Kant's ethics offers an empty formalism that tells us nothing about how we should live. In Acting on Principle Onora O'Neill shows that Kantian ethics has practical as well as philosophical importance. First published in 1975, the book is regarded as a classic account and defence of the Kantian ethical position. It addresses Kant's account of reasoning about action, in particular his controversial claim that the Categorical Imperative guides action and is basic to ethics and justice. This second edition offers a substantial new introduction and updated bibliography, and will be valuable for a wide readership in Kant studies and those studying ethics." -- Publisher's description.

Onora O'Neill has published widely in political philosophy and ethics, focusing on conceptions of justice, bioethics, and the philosophy of Immanuel Kant. Her books include 'Faces of hunger: An essay on poverty, development and justice' (1986), 'Construction of reason: Explorations of Kant's practical philosophy' (1989), 'Towards justice and virtue' (1996), and 'Autonomy and trust in bioethics' (2002). She is currently working on the topics of practical judgement and normativity, trust and accountability, and the ethics of communication. In her three Spinoza Lectures, collectively titled 'Speech Rights and Speech Wrongs', Onora O'Neill presents the latest results of her original research on the ethics of communication. Onora O'Neill (Baroness O'Neill of Bengarve CBE FBA Hon FRS F Med Sci) has taught at various universities in the US and the UK. She was Principal of Newnham College, Cambridge from 1992 to 2006, President of the British Academy from 2005 to 2009, and chaired the Nuffi eld Foundation from 1998 to 2010.

"Who ought to do what, and for whom, if global justice is to progress? In this collection of essays on justice beyond borders, Onora O'Neill criticises theoretical approaches that concentrate on rights, yet ignore both the obligations that must be met to realise those rights, and the capacities needed by those who shoulder these obligations. She notes that states are profoundly anti-cosmopolitan institutions, and that even those committed to justice and universal rights often lack the competence and the will to secure them, let alone to secure them beyond their borders. She argues for a wider conception of global justice, in which obligations may be held either by states or by competent non-state actors, and in which borders themselves must meet standards of justice. This rich and wide-ranging collection will appeal to a wide range of academic researchers and advanced students of political philosophy, political theory, international relations and philosophy of law"--