Chapter 12: The Need for more than Justice
Chapter 12: The Need for More Than Justice
Amazon Reference:
Quote:
“…the best moral theory has to be a cooperative product of women and men, has to harmonize justice and care.”
What I expect to learn:
I expect to learn about why justice by itself is inadequate and how this can be compensated.
Review:
The writer, being a woman, has a very feministic take on justice. According to her, justice as a moral theory is inadequate by itself. She, and possibly other feminists, believe that our notion of justice was based solely on rational thought. Although being human does entail our being rational, she says that we cannot discount our emotions, feelings, and passions. Many rationalists look down upon emotions because they cloud the mind, and make us susceptible to hasty decision making. Rationalists value intellectual exercise, which is not bad in itself, but because it was done on its own, they overlooked certain aspects of being human that should have been considered in the proposition of an effective moral theory.
Rationalism tells us that all men are born equal. But it would seem that they overlooked the fact that not all men are born at the same time and in the same circumstances. There are social inequalities that the theory of justice has overlooked, namely parent-child relationships and those holding public office as opposed to their constituents. This is mainly because the theory of justice assumes a general equality among humans, that everyone has the same rights. But if emotions and passions were to be considered as a moral theory by themselves, it would also become inadequate precisely due to the reasons why rationalism looks down on them. By themselves, both human qualities are not enough to establish the most effective moral theory possible. This is because one has inherent deficiencies which oddly enough are the exact complements of the other. Does this hold the answer?
Rationalists have identified justice as a moral theory, which entails human rights and equality. Feminists have preached that emotions are a fundamental part to being human and as such, should be considered when developing moral theories. The writer believes, and I agree, that the best moral theory is one which considers the best aspects of both rationalists and feminists. Justice coupled with care for others probably is the best moral theory that could ever be developed.
What I learned:
- The inadequacies of justice as a moral theory.
- The power of emotions and its inalienability to being human.
- The combination of justice and care as a moral theory.
Integrative Questions:
- Why is justice inadequate as a moral theory by itself?
- Why can you not separate rationalism and emotions when considering a moral theory?
- What is probably the best moral theory that could be thought of?
- What are some social inequalities that the justice theory overlooks?
- Why is justice coupled with care the best moral theory?
