An investigation of some of the most important and controversial issues in philosophy today, this text presents a critical picture of both the "weak" or postmodern view of ethics evident in the work of Nietzsche, Richard Rorty and Jean-Francois Lyotard; and the enlightenment view, descended from Kant and taken up by Jurgen Habermas. Nicholas Smith argues that neither of these views can provide a proper framework for ethics. He instead advocates an alternative, a strong hermeneutics. Drawing on the work of Hans-Georg Gadamer, Paul Ricoeur and Charles Taylor, the text provides an account of how we must understand ethics and identity today.