8.4 /10 1 Votes
Country United States Media type Print | 4.2/5 Goodreads Language English Originally published 2008 Subject Political philosophy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Similar Michael J Sandel books, Justice books | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Book michael sandel justice what s the right thing to do
Justice: What's the right thing to do? is a 2009 book on political philosophy by Michael J. Sandel.
Contents
Justice what s the right thing to do episode 01 the moral side of murder
Background
The work was written to accompany Sandel's famous "Justice" course at Harvard University which he has taught for more than thirty years and which has been offered online and in various TV summary versions. There is also an accompanying sourcebook of readings: Justice: A Reader.
Summary
Sandel address a series of alternative theories of justice. The utilitarianism of Jeremy Bentham is outlined and criticised and then John Stuart Mill's refinements are discussed. The libertarians, in particular Robert Nozick, and their arguments are discussed. Then Sandel discusses Immanuel Kant and his 'categorical imperative'. The discussion then goes on to John Rawls's work. Then Aristotle and the concept of 'telos' is discussed. It is here that Sandel begins to make clear his own perspective. He argues that justice, rather than being or autonomous (as Kantians or Rawlsians might have it), has a goal. A form of communitarianism. Sandel quotes Alasdair MacIntyre and his characterisation of humans as being 'storytelling beings' who live their lives with narrative quests.