Modern social contract theory / Albert Weale.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Weale, Albert, author.

Series:

Oxford scholarship online.

Oxford scholarship online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social contract.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

1 online resource : illustrations (colour).

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Oxford, England : Oxford University Press, [2020]

Summary:

An exposition and evaluation of major work in social contract theory from 1950 to the present. It locates the central themes of that theory in the intellectual legacy of utilitarianism, particularly the problems of defining principles of justice and of showing the grounds of moral obligation. It demonstrates how theorists responded in a novel way to the dilemmas articulated in utilitarianism, developing in their different approaches a constructivist method in ethics, a method that aimed to vindicate a liberal, democratic and just political order.

Contents:

Part I: Constructing contract theory. The rebirth of contract theory ; The twilight of utilitarianism ; Contractual constructions ; Contractual rationalities

Part II: The theory of content. Rational choosers ; Constitutional uncertainties ; Bargained justice ; Veiled deliberation ; Decent reasoning ; Living together reasonably

Part III: The theory of obligation. The limits of liberty ; Constraining maximization ; Fairness, goodness, reasonableness ; Grounding obligations ; Justification to others

Part IV: The progress of contract theory. Contractual reconstructions ; Social contract as domination ; A method of ethics? ; Contractual constitutions.

Notes:

This edition also issued in print: 2020.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-19-259499-0

0-19-188796-X

0-19-259498-2