Knowing What Justice Means and Being Committed to It: Remarks on Allen Buchanan's Analysis of Conservative Factual Beliefs

Artikel

Allen Buchanan argues that a particular set of false factual beliefs, especially when part of a comprehensive ideology, can lead persons to develop 'morally conservative' convictions that stand in the way of realising justice even though these persons have a 'firm grasp of correct principles of justice and a robust commitment to their realisation'. In my remarks, I raise some questions concerning the core argument: How 'firm' can a grasp of principles of justice be if a person is blind to the realities of injustice? And how 'sincerely committed' to justice can such an injustice-insensitive person be? Alternatively: How firm is that grasp or commitment if one has a radically pessimistic view about human nature so that one does not believe that (egalitarian) justice can or could ever be realised? Secondly, I ask: If such ideologies or false beliefs are in play in reproducing injustice, do they not also 'mask' existing injustices?

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Journal: Journal of Applied Philosophy ; ISSN: 1468-5930 ; Volume: 38 ; Year: 2021 ; Issue: 5 ; Pages: 742-746 ; Oxford: Wiley

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Philosophie

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Forst, Rainer
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Wiley
• (where): Oxford
• (when): 2021

Further information

• DOI: doi:10.1111/japp.12540
• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/253260
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:41 AM CET