  An objection to distinguishing theory and practice in this way is that it treats as categorial a distinction better understood as one of degree. Political theory is messy. It involves describing and judging, explaining and prescribing, and it is not always clear where one begins and the other ends. They are certainly joined in Oakeshott’s writings despite his arguments for keeping them separate (Haddock 2005). But the objection affirms rather than denies the distinction. This is not to say that it cannot be challenged, but to push the discussion further we must rethink the terms involved, for example by defining practical reasoning as reasoning that results in changes in belief as well as action (Wallace 2020). Alternatively, we might treat the theory-practice distinction as contextual: a philosopher’s theoretical argument can appear practical when read historically as a move in some debate (Nardin 2015: 318–319). 