In what sense are persons equal, such that it is appropriate to treat them as equals? This difficult question has been strangely neglected by political philosophers. A plausible answer can be found by adopting a particular interpretation of the idea of respect. Central to this interpretation is the thought that in order to respect persons we need to treat them as 'opaque', paying attention only to their outward features as agents. This proposed basis of equality has important implications for the currency of egalitarian justice, ruling out a number of the equalizanda favored by contemporary egalitarians.

Respect and the Basis of Equality

CARTER, IAN FRANK
2011-01-01

Abstract

In what sense are persons equal, such that it is appropriate to treat them as equals? This difficult question has been strangely neglected by political philosophers. A plausible answer can be found by adopting a particular interpretation of the idea of respect. Central to this interpretation is the thought that in order to respect persons we need to treat them as 'opaque', paying attention only to their outward features as agents. This proposed basis of equality has important implications for the currency of egalitarian justice, ruling out a number of the equalizanda favored by contemporary egalitarians.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11571/376790
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