Incommensurability and its implications for practical reasoning, ethics and justice

Author(s)

    • Boot, Martijn

Bibliographic Information

Incommensurability and its implications for practical reasoning, ethics and justice

Martijn Boot

(Values and identities : crossing philosophical borders)

Rowman & Littlefield International, c2017

  • : cloth
  • : pbk

Available at  / 3 libraries

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Note

Includes bibliographical references (p. 227-233) and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

If values conflict and rival human interests clash we often have to weigh them against each other. However, under particular conditions incommensurability prevents the assignment of determinable and impartial weights. In those cases an objective balance does not exist. The original thesis of this book sheds new light on aspects of incommensurability and its implications for public decision-making, ethics and justice. Martijn Boot analyzes a number of previously ignored or unrecognized concepts, such as 'incomplete comparability', 'incompletely justified choice', 'indeterminateness' and 'ethical deficit' - concepts that are essential for comprehending problems of incommensurability. Apart from problematic implications, incommensurability has also favourable consequences. It creates room for autonomous rational choices that are not dictated by reason. Besides, insight into incommensurability promotes recognition of different possible rankings of universally valid but sometimes conflicting human values. This book avoids unnecessary technical language and is accessible not only for specialists but for a large audience of philosophers, ethicists, political theorists, economists, lawyers and interested persons without specialized knowledge.

Table of Contents

Introduction / Part I: Incommensurability and Its Implications for Practical Reasoning / 1. Incommensurability and Incomplete Comparability / 2. Spurious Challenges / 3. Real Challenges: Imprecise Equality and Parity versus Incomplete Comparability / 4. Implications of Incomplete Comparability for Practical Reasoning and Rational Justification of the Choice / Part II: Implications of Imcommensurability for Public Decision-Making, Ethics and Justice / 5. Conflicts of Justice / 6. Rival Theories of Justice / 7. Implications of Incommensurability for John Rawls's Theory of Justice / 8. Do We Need a Theory of Justice? A Reply to Amartya Sen / 9. Equity and Efficiency in Health Care / 10. Legitimacy versus Integrity / 11. Partial Justice / 12. Autonomy and Recognition / Glossary

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