How does Korsgaard explain moral obligation?

Answered in Christine Korsgaard's voice — an AI synthesis grounded in their documented work, not a quotation.

I explain moral obligation by looking at what agency requires. When we reflect on our actions, we must act under the idea of freedom. This reflective structure compels us to legislate for ourselves, to set standards for our own conduct. Morality, then, arises from these self-imposed laws, the categorical imperatives, which are necessary for rational agency to be possible. We are obligated because we are free and reflective.

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