The Idea of Justice - Hardcover

Sen, Amartya

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1846141478 ISBN 13: 9781846141478

Publisher: Allen Lane, 2009

Synopsis

Is justice an ideal, forever beyond our grasp, or something that may actually guide our practical decisions and enhance our lives?In this wide-ranging book, Amartya Sen presents an alternative approach to mainstream theories of justice which, despite their many specific achievements have taken us, he argues, in the wrong direction in general.

At the heart of Sen's argument is his insistence on the role of public reason in establishing what can make societies less unjust. But it is in the nature of reasoning about justice, argues Sen, that it does not allow all questions to be settled even in theory; there are choices to be faced between alternative assessments of what is reasonable; several different and competing positions can each be well-defended.Far from rejecting such pluralities or trying to reduce them beyond the limits of reasoning, we should make use of them to construct a theory of justice that can absorb divergent points of view. Sen also shows how concern about the principles of justice in the modern world must avoid parochialism, and further, address questions of global injustice. The breadth of vision, intellectual acuity and striking humanity of one of the world's leading public intellectuals have never been more clearly shown than in this remarkable book.

About this title

Review:

Few contemporary thinkers have had as much direct impact on world affairs as Amartya Sen. This wonderfully lucid presentation of his approach to justice will be an invaluable compass -- Philippe Van Parijs, Professor of Economic and Social Ethics, Louvain

I believe that Amartya Sen's THE IDEA OF JUSTICE is the most important contribution to the subject since John Rawls's A THEORY OF JUSTICE appeared in 1971 -- Hilary Putnam, Professor Emeritus in Philosophy, Harvard

In lucid and vigorous prose, THE IDEA OF JUSTICE gives us a political philosophy that is dedicated to the reduction of injustice on Earth -- G.A. Cohen, Professor of Social and Political Theory Emeritus, Oxford

Sen is one of the great thinkers of our era ... if a public intellectual is defined by his or her capacity to bridge the worlds of pure ideas and the most far-reaching policies, Sen has few rivals -- The Times, July 4th 2009, David Aaronovitch

Review:

I believe that Amartya Sen's THE IDEA OF JUSTICE is the most important contribution to the subject since John Rawls's A THEORY OF JUSTICE appeared in 1971

About this edition

• Publisher: Allen Lane
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1846141478
• ISBN 13: 9781846141478
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 496