Rethinking justice : restoring our humanity / Richard H. Bell ; foreword by Walter Brueggemann.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bell, Richard H.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Justice.

Physical Description:

xiv, 145 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Lanham : Lexington Books, [2007]

Summary:

In Rethinking Justice, Richard H. Bell lifts up and restores an idea of justice found in the works of classical writers such as Socrates and Seneca as well as in that of more recent thinkers. Justice, classically, has dealt with righting wrongs and restoring peace to individuals and human communities. Bell believes we have lost sight of this in our modern political and legal dealings and must find a way to return it to mind and to practice.

Each chapter looks at ways to restore such reconciliatory practices to the idea of justice that can be found in our contemporary life and literature, and focuses on numerous recent cases of abuse of justice among individuals, groups, and nations. Bell approaches justice as a concept that goes hand in hand with compassion, mercy, and trust. Rethinking Justice reminds us that we have an obligation to foster peace, be merciful, and promote reconciliation with our brothers and sisters in humanity.

Contents:

1 The Concept of Justice: Some Recent Perspectives 9

"Facing" our humanity: contextualizing justice and injustice 9

Classical conceptions of justice 14

Justice, power, and rights 19

Obligations and reciprocity 22

2 Justice: Human Dignity and Equality 29

The idea of justice beyond fairness 30

Seeing the other with equal respect through the injustice of colonialism 33

3 Justice: Mercy and the Cultivation of Humanity 45

Mercy and "the equity tradition" 45

Mercy and forgiveness in practice: the South African case 50

4 Justice Across Boundaries I: The Moral and Literary Imagination 67

Sympathetic understanding 67

The moral imagination 69

The literary imagination 74

5 Justice Across Boundaries II: Human Development and Obligation 81

Poverty and social justice 83

Capabilities and development 86

Obligations 88

6 Restorative Justice and Democratic Deliberation 95

Restorative justice 96

Deliberative democracy and justice 105

7 Justice and Spirituality: A Testament to Our Humanity 117

Spirituality's link with justice 117

Justice and "the absolute horizon of being" 120

Spirituality and justice in Simone Weil 124.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 135-140) and index.

ISBN:

9780739122280

0739122282

OCLC:

122291389