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Providing for Rights

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 April 2010

Donald C. Hubin
Affiliation:
Ohio State University
Mark B. Lambeth
Affiliation:
Ohio State University

Extract

Hypothetical contractarians hold that justice is defined by a contract which would (rationally) be made in some specified situation. The characterization of this situation is a matter of great controversy. If it is taken to be our real-life situation, obvious counterexamples arise. Previous acts of predation may make rational an agreement which could hardly be called “just”. Various alternative characterizations have been offered with a variety of justifications. Still, this is a difficult point in contractarian theory.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Philosophical Association 1988

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References

Frank, Robert, 1985 Choosing the Right Pond. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Gauthier, David, 1986 Morals by Agreement. Oxford: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar
Locke, John, 1963 Two Treatises of Government (Laslett edition). New York: Mentor Books.Google Scholar
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