Justice

A Reader

Edited by Michael J. Sandel

High-profile, widely respected editor: Michael Sandel, a regular contributor to The New Republic, is one of the country's foremost contemporary political philosophers and he has served on the President's Council on Bioethics.
Large audience: the reader is based on Sandel's 25 years of teaching the perennially popular Harvard course. Typically over 1,000 students are enrolled every fall semester. This anthology will, however, appeal far beyond the halls of Harvard, extending to the many-and there are many-instructors eager to emulate the famed course and Sandel's widely admired approach to the often contentious issues of moral reasoning.
Contains major classical writings alongside major contemporary essays: core philosophical texts by Aristotle, Locke, Kant, and Mill are featured as well as contemporary essays by John Rawls, Sandel, and Robert Nozick. All the essays are put in context with helpful, accessible headnotes by Sandel.
Interdisciplinary appeal: will appeal to courses in political science, philosophy, and the law, as it discusses relevant ethical issues to each area, like affirmative action, gay marriage, disability, and bioethics.

Justice

A Reader

Edited by Michael J. Sandel

Description

Justice brings together in one indispensable volume essential readings on justice and moral reasoning. With readings from major thinkers from the classical era up to the present, the collection provides a thematic overview of the concept of justice. Moreover, Sandel's organization of the readings and his own commentaries allow readers to engage with a variety of pressing contemporary issues. Looking at a host of ethical dilemmas, including affirmative action, conscription, income distribution, and gay rights, from a variety of angles—morally, legally, politically—the collection engages with the core concerns of political philosophy: individual rights and the claims of community, equality and inequality, morality and law, and ultimately, justice. With concise section introductions that put the readings in context, this anthology is an invaluable tool for students, teachers, and anyone who wishes to engage in the great moral debates that have animated politics from classical times to our own.

Justice

A Reader

Edited by Michael J. Sandel

I. Introduction: Doing the Right Thing
The Queen v. Dudley and Stephens (1884)(The lifeboat case)
II. Utilitarianism
Principles of Morals and Legistlation, Jeremy Bentham
Utilitiarianism, John Stuart Mill
III. Libertarianism
Free to Choose, Milton and Rose Friedman
Anarchy, State, and Utopia, Robert Nozick
The Constitution of Liberty, Friedrich A. Hayek
IV. Locke: Property Rights
Second Treatise of Government, John Locke
V. Markets and Morals: Surrogate Motherhood, Military Service
Tragic Choices, Guido Calabresi and Philop Bobbit
Battle Cry of Freedom, James M. McPherson
"All Go Down Together", James Traub
In the Matter of Baby 'M' (1987)
In the Matter of Baby 'M' (1988, N.J.Supreme Court)
"Is Women's Labor a Commodity?", Elizabeth S. Anderson
VI. Kant: Freedom as Autonomy
Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, Immanuel Kant
"On the Supposed Right to Lie", Immanuel Kant
VII. Rawls: Justice as Fairness
A Theory of Justice, John Rawls
VIII. Distributive Justice: Equality, Entitlement, and Merit
A Theory of Justice, John Rawls
Anarchy, State, and Utopia, Robert Nozick
IX. Affirmative Action: Reverse Discrimination?
"Racial Discrimination or Righting Past Wrongs?", Richard Bernstein
Hopwood v. State of Texas (1996)
Grutter v. Bollinger (2003)
"Bakke's Case: Are Quotas Unfair?", Ronald Dworkin
"Double Reverse Discrimination", Jefferson Morley
"Proxy War: Liberals Denounce Racial Profiling. Conservatives Denounce Affirmative Action. What's the Difference?", Michael Brus
X. Aristotle: Justice and Virtue
The Politics, Aristotle
Nichomachean Ethics, Aristotle
XI. Ability, Disability, and Discrimination: Cheerleaders and golf carts
"A Safety Blitz; Texas Cheerleader Loses Status", Sue Anne Pressley
"Honor and Resentment", Michael J. Sandel
"Sorry, Free Rides Not Right", Bob Ryan
"Keep the PGA on Foot", Tom Kite
PGA Tour, Inc. v. Martin (2000)
XII. Justice, Community, and Membership
After Virtue, Alasdair MacIntyre
Democracy's Discontent, Michael J. Sandel
Spheres of Justice, Michael Walzer
XIII. Moral Argument and Liberal Toleration
Moral Liberalism, John Rawls
"Political Liberalism", Michael J. Sandel
XV. Morality and Law: Same-Sex Marriage, For and Against
Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health (2003)
"Abolish Marriage", Michael Kinsey
"Law, Morality, and 'Sexual Orientation'", John M. Finnis
"Homosexuality and the Conservative Mind", Stephen Macedo
"Universalism, Liberal Theory, and the Problem of Gay Marriage", Robin West

Justice

A Reader

Edited by Michael J. Sandel

Author Information

Edited by Michael J. Sandel, Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Government, Harvard University

Michael J. Sandel is the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Government at Harvard University, where he has taught political philosophy since 1980. He is the author of numerous books, including Liberalism and the Limits of Justice, Democracy's Discontent, Public Philosophy and most recently, The Case against Perfection: Ethics in the Age of Genetic Engineering.

Contributors:

Elizabeth Anderson, Aristotle, Jeremy Bentham, Michael Brus, Ronald Dworkin, John Finnis, Milton Friedman, Immanuel Kant, Michael Kinsley, Tom Kite, John Locke, Stephen Macedo, Alasdair MacIntyre, James McPherson, John Stuart Mill, Bob Morley, Robert Nozick, Sue Anne Pressley, John Rawls, Michael Sandel, James Traub, Michael Walzer, and Robin West.

Justice

A Reader

Edited by Michael J. Sandel

Reviews and Awards

Michael Sandel is one of the most popular and influential college professors in America. For more than twenty years, hundreds of students at a time have packed into a Harvard University lecture hall to hear his discourses on justice; and hundreds have streamed out feeling a surprisingly personal connection with their gifted teacher. This book reveals Sandel's secret recipe for enthralling students with timeless questions of law, justice, and morality in a decidedly contemporary context. - Anita L. Allen, Professor of Philosophy and Henry R. Silverman Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania Law School

This thoughtful, stimulating, and convenient collection brings a range of classic moral and political philosophers - from Aristotle to John Stuart Mill

This outstanding collection successfully blends historical and contemporary thought, on issues of theoretical and practical importance, to illuminate the main problems of justice. It is accessible to undergraduates in philosophy, with breadth and depth enough to engage the experienced philosophical reader hoping to rethink some central debates. - Michele Moody-Adams, Director and Hutchinson Professor of Ethics and Public Life, Cornell University