Books by Barbara Herman

Barbara Herman argues for a radical shift in the way we perceive Kant's ethics. She convincingly reinterprets the key texts, at once allowing Kant to mean what he says while showing that what Kant says makes good moral sense. This book both clarifies Kant's own theory and adds programmatic vitality to modern moral philosophy.

Herman draws on Kant to address both timeless issues in ethical theory and those arising from current moral questions, such as affirmative action and the costs of reparative justice. Challenging orthodoxies, he offers a view of moral competency as a complex achievement, governed by rational norms and dependent on supportive social conditions.