By nature equal : the anatomy of a Western insight / John E. Coons and Patrick M. Brennan ; with a foreword by John Witte, Jr.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Coons, John E.

Contributor:

Brennan, Patrick M., 1966-

Witte, John, Jr., 1959-

Series:

New forum books.

New forum books

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Equality--Philosophy.

Equality.

Equality--Religious aspects.

Equality before the law.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (388 p.)

Edition:

Core Textbook

Place of Publication:

Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, c1999.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

What do we mean when we refer to people as being equal by nature? In the first book devoted to human equality as a fact rather than as a social goal or a legal claim, John Coons and Patrick Brennan argue that even if people possess unequal talents or are born into unequal circumstances, all may still be equal if it is true that human nature provides them the same access to moral self-perfection. Plausibly, in the authors' view, such access stems from the power of individuals to achieve goodness simply by doing the best they can to discover and perform correct actions. If people enjoy the same degree of natural capacity to try, all of us are offered the same opportunities for moral self-fulfillment. To believe this is to believe in equality. This truly interdisciplinary work not only proposes the authors' own rationale but also provides an effective deconstruction of several other contemporary theories of equality, while it engages historical, philosophical, and Christian accounts as well. Furthermore, by divorcing the "best" from the "brightest," it shows how descriptive equality acquires practical significance. Among other accomplishments, By Nature Equal offers communitarians a core principle that has until now eluded them, rescues human dignity from the hierarchy of intellect, identifies racism in a new way, and shows how justice can be freshly grounded in the conviction that every rational person has the same capacity for moral excellence.

Contents:

Front matter

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND APOLOGY / Coons, John E.

FOREWORD / Witte, John

INTRODUCTION: In Search of a Descriptive Human Equality

PART I: HUMAN EQUALITY: WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

PART II: COULD THE PHILOSOPHERS BELIEVE IN HUMAN EQUALITY?

PART III: COULD THE CHRISTIANS BELIEVE IN HUMAN EQUALITY?

PART IV: GOOD PERSONS AND THE COMMON GOOD

NOTES

INDEX

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [261]-348) and index.

ISBN:

9786612753626

9781282753624

1282753622

9781400822881

1400822882

9781400811298

1400811295

OCLC:

700688283