What Is Justice?: Classic and Contemporary Readings

By Mark C. Murphy, Robert C. Solomon, Jonathan Wolff

Book Overview

Since the publication of John Rawls's monumental A Theory of Justice in 1971, justice has been increasingly prominent as a topic in social, political, and moral philosophy. Until now, however, no single collection has offered both classical sources and a concise overview of the current debate.

This uniquely comprehensive anthology presents a wide range of writings on the concept of justice, bringing together substantial excerpts from the most important historical and classical texts--Homer, Plato, Aristotle, the Bible, the Quran--and selections from other and more recent work--Hobbes, Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, Engels, Rawls, Nozick, Walzer, Nagel. The book is exceptionally broad in scope, representing an extensive variety of different viewpoints, and including such major topics as the historical origins of justice, social contract theory, the right to private property, the notion of community, the problem of punishment, and the concept of fairness. The first anthology devoted solely to the idea of justice--its current definitions and historical antecedents--this book will help readers make sense of this complex and vastly important topic.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195060504
• ISBN13: 9780195060508
• Release Date: October 1990
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.2" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Deep thoughts

I read this in a doctoral seminar on social justice in education. This book is for those that want to have an in depth look at justice. Very theoretical and thought provoking. Be prepared to have to read things more than once to try and gather meaning.

great book

This book is very good. It gives a very solid philosophical inquiry into the basis of government and society and the meaning and manifestation of justice in the social order. The samples of writings are from many different authors and the selections are meaningful and yet short enough to not be too drawn-out so it stays interesting. It is probably most useful as a reader in a classroom setting and yet is certainly recommended to anyone simply with serious interest in understanding justice more clearly and what its basis is, its significance and its relevance to anyone living in a society. The selections navigate the very subtle nuances and characteristics that make justice meaningful and relevant to everyone. I recommend it to every citizen, wherever they are at in relation to government.