Reasonableness and Fairness: A Historical Theory

by Christopher McMahon

Overview

We all know, or think we know, what it means to say that something is 'reasonable' or 'fair', but what exactly are these concepts and how have they evolved and changed over the course of history? In this book, Christopher McMahon explores reasonableness, fairness, and justice as central concepts of the morality of reciprocal concern. He argues that the basis of this morality evolves as history unfolds, so that forms of interaction that might have been morally acceptable in the past are judged unacceptable today. The first part of his study examines the notions of reasonableness and fairness as they are employed in ordinary practical thought, and the second part develops a constructivist theory to explain why and how this part of morality can undergo historical development without arriving at any final form. His book will interest scholars of ethics, political theory, and the history of ideas.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781316827628
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	11/03/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Christopher McMahon is Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His previous books include Reasonable Disagreement: A Theory of Political Morality (Cambridge, 2009) and Collective Rationality and Collective Reasoning (Cambridge, 2001).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements; Introduction; Part I. The Substance of Reciprocal Concern: 1. Fairness; 2. Reasonableness; 3. Political morality; Part II. The History of Reciprocal Concern: 4. Proper functioning and practical judgement; 5. A historical theory of reasons; 6. Naturalism and moral history; 7. The history of political morality; References; Index.