Utilitarianism, Institutions, and Justice

Utilitarianism, Institutions, and Justice PDF Author: James Wood Bailey
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0195105109
Category : Institutions (Philosophy)
Languages : en
Pages : 216

Get Book Here

Book Description
Far from recommending cruel acts, utilitarianism, understood this way, actually runs congruent to our basic moral intuitions.

Utilitarianism, Institutions, and Justice

Utilitarianism, Institutions, and Justice PDF Author: James Wood Bailey
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0195105109
Category : Institutions (Philosophy)
Languages : en
Pages : 216

Get Book Here

Book Description
Far from recommending cruel acts, utilitarianism, understood this way, actually runs congruent to our basic moral intuitions.

Utilitarianism, Institutions, and Justice

Utilitarianism, Institutions, and Justice PDF Author: James Wood Bailey
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0195355679
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 216

Get Book Here

Book Description
This compelling book advances utilitarianism as the basis for a viable public philosophy, effectively rebutting the common charge that, as moral doctrine, utilitarian thought permits cruel acts, justifies unfair distribution of wealth, and demands too much of moral agents. James Wood Bailey defends utilitarianism through novel use of game theory insights regarding feasible equilibria and evolutionary stability, elaborating a sophisticated account of institutions that real-world utilitarians would want to foster. If utilitarianism seems in principle to dictate that we make each and every choice such that it leads to the best consequences overall, game theory emphasizes that no choice has consequences in isolation, but only in conjunction with many other choices of other agents. Viewing institutions as equilibria in complex games, Bailey negotiates the paradox of individual responsibilities, arguing that if individuals within institutions have specific responsibilities they cannot get from the principle of utility alone, the utility principle nevertheless holds great value in that it allows us to identify morally desirable institutions. Far from recommending cruel acts, utilitarianism, understood this way, actually runs congruent to our basic moral intuitions. A provocative attempt to support the practical use of utilitarian ethics in a world of conflicting interests and competing moral agents, Bailey's book employs the work of social scientists to tackle problems traditionally given abstract philosophical attention. Vividly illustrating its theory with concrete moral dilemmas and taking seriously our moral common sense, Utilitarianism, Institutions, and Justice is an accessible, groundbreaking work that will richly reward students and scholars of political science, political economy, and philosophy.

A Theory of Justice

A Theory of Justice PDF Author: John RAWLS
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674042603
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 624

Get Book Here

Book Description
Though the revised edition of A Theory of Justice, published in 1999, is the definitive statement of Rawls's view, so much of the extensive literature on Rawls's theory refers to the first edition. This reissue makes the first edition once again available for scholars and serious students of Rawls's work.

The Idea of Justice

The Idea of Justice PDF Author: Amartya Sen
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674060474
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 497

Get Book Here

Book Description
Presents an analysis of what justice is, the transcendental theory of justice and its drawbacks, and a persuasive argument for a comparative perspective on justice that can guide us in the choice between alternatives.

Liberalism and Distributive Justice

Liberalism and Distributive Justice PDF Author: Samuel Freeman
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190699280
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Get Book Here

Book Description
Samuel Freeman is a leading political philosopher and one of the foremost authorities on the works of John Rawls. Liberalism and Distributive Justice offers a series of Freeman's essays in contemporary political philosophy on three different forms of liberalism-classical liberalism, libertarianism, and the high liberal tradition--and their relation to capitalism, the welfare state, and economic justice.

Utilitarianism - Ed. Heydt

Utilitarianism - Ed. Heydt PDF Author: John Stuart Mill
Publisher: Broadview Press
ISBN: 1460402103
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 209

Get Book Here

Book Description
John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism is a philosophical defense of utilitarianism, a moral theory stating that right actions are those that tend to promote overall happiness. The essay first appeared as a series of articles published in Fraser’s Magazine in 1861; the articles were collected and reprinted as a single book in 1863. Mill discusses utilitarianism in some of his other works, including On Liberty and The Subjection of Women, but Utilitarianism contains his only sustained defence of the theory. In this Broadview Edition, Colin Heydt provides a substantial introduction that will enable readers to understand better the polemical context for Utilitarianism. Heydt shows, for example, how Mill’s moral philosophy grew out of political engagement, rather than exclusively out of a speculative interest in determining the nature of morality. Appendices include precedents to Mill’s work, reactions to Utilitarianism, and related writings by Mill.

Philosophy of Law: A Very Short Introduction

Philosophy of Law: A Very Short Introduction PDF Author: Raymond Wacks
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191510637
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 169

Get Book Here

Book Description
The concept of law lies at the heart of our social and political life. Legal philosophy, or jurisprudence, explores the notion of law and its role in society, illuminating its meaning and its relation to the universal questions of justice, rights, and morality. In this Very Short Introduction Raymond Wacks analyses the nature and purpose of the legal system, and the practice by courts, lawyers, and judges. Wacks reveals the intriguing and challenging nature of legal philosophy with clarity and enthusiasm, providing an enlightening guide to the central questions of legal theory. In this revised edition Wacks makes a number of updates including new material on legal realism, changes to the approach to the analysis of law and legal theory, and updates to historical and anthropological jurisprudence. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Responsibility and Distributive Justice

Responsibility and Distributive Justice PDF Author: Carl Knight
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199565805
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 318

Get Book Here

Book Description
This volume presents new essays investigating a difficult theoretical and practical problem: how do we find a place for individual responsibility in a theory of distributive justice? Does what we choose affect what we deserve? Would making justice sensitive to responsibility give people what they deserve? Would it advance or hinder equality?

John Rawls: Reticent Socialist

John Rawls: Reticent Socialist PDF Author: William A. Edmundson
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107173191
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 223

Get Book Here

Book Description
The first detailed reconstruction of the late work of John Rawls, further developing his ideas of 'justice-as-fairness'.

The Most Good You Can Do

The Most Good You Can Do PDF Author: Peter Singer
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300182414
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 228

Get Book Here

Book Description
An argument for putting sentiment aside and maximizing the practical impact of our donated dollars: “Powerful, provocative” (Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times). Peter Singer’s books and ideas have been disturbing our complacency ever since the appearance of Animal Liberation. Now he directs our attention to a challenging new movement in which his own ideas have played a crucial role: effective altruism. Effective altruism is built upon the simple but profoundly unsettling idea that living a fully ethical life involves doing the “most good you can do.” Such a life requires a rigorously unsentimental view of charitable giving: to be a worthy recipient of our support, an organization must be able to demonstrate that it will do more good with our money or our time than other options open to us. Singer introduces us to an array of remarkable people who are restructuring their lives in accordance with these ideas, and shows how, paradoxically, living altruistically often leads to greater personal fulfillment than living for oneself. Doing the Most Good develops the challenges Singer has made, in the New York Times and Washington Post, to those who donate to the arts, and to charities focused on helping our fellow citizens, rather than those for whom we can do the most good. Effective altruists are extending our knowledge of the possibilities of living less selfishly, and of allowing reason, rather than emotion, to determine how we live. Doing the Most Good offers new hope for our ability to tackle the world’s most pressing problems.