Title: A critical analysis of moral contractarianism : towards a revised framework
Source document: Pro-Fil. 2024, vol. 25, iss. 1, pp. 12-24
Extent
12-24
-
ISSN1212-9097 (online)
Persistent identifier (DOI): https://doi.org/10.5817/pf24-1-38249
Stable URL (handle): https://hdl.handle.net/11222.digilib/digilib.80412
Type: Article
Language
License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International
Rights access
open access
Notice: These citations are automatically created and might not follow citation rules properly.
Abstract(s)
This paper critically examines moral contractarianism, a moral theory centred on rational agreements among self-interested individuals to establish moral rules and social norms. It explores the challenges faced by moral contractarianism while also highlighting its strengths. Major issues, such as accommodating justice and fairness within the contractarian framework, are discussed, along with other challenges. Additionally, the paper provides a brief discussion of moral contractualism (a theory similar to moral contractarianism in certain aspects), highlighting its strengths in addressing some of the challenges faced by moral contractarianism while also discussing its limitations. The paper concludes by offering a revised framework of moral contractarianism that provides solutions to the major problems of injustice and partiality that the theory faces.
References
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[2] Becker, L. (2005): Reciprocity, justice, and disability. Ethics 116(1), 9–39.
[3] Bernstein, M. (1997): Contractualism and animals. Philosophical Studies 86(1), 49–72.
[4] Cudd, A. & Eftekhari S. (2021): Contractarianism, in Zalta, E. (ed.) The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy [online], [accessed 25.02.24], available at: < https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2021/entries/contractarianism/ >
[5] Darwall, S. (ed.) (2003): Contractarianism, Contractualism. Malden: Blackwell.
[6] Frederick, D. (2013): Social Contract Theory Should Be Abandoned. Rationality, Markets and Morals 4: 178-89.
[7] Gauthier, D. (1977): The social contract as ideology. Philosophy and Public Affairs 6(2), 130–164.
[8] Gauthier, D. (1986): Morals by agreement. New York: Clarendon Press.
[9] Hampton, J. (1987): Hobbes and the Social Contract Tradition. New York: Cambridge University Press.
[10] Kraus, J. S. (1993): The Limits of Hobbesian Contractarianism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[11] Moehler, M. (2018): Diversity, Stability, and Social Contract Theory. Philosophical Studies 176(12), 3285–3301.
[12] Murray, M. (2007): The Moral Wager: Evolution and Contract. Dordrecht: Springer.
[13] Scanlon, T. (1998): What we owe to each other. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
[14] Smith, H. (1991): Deriving Morality from Rationality. In Peter Vallentyne (ed.), Contractarianism and Rational choice: Essays on David Gauthier's Morals by Agreement. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 229–253.
[15] Southwood, N. (2010): Contractualism and the foundations of morality. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
[16] Stark, C. (2007): How to Include the Severely Disabled in a Contractarian Theory of Justice. Journal of Political Philosophy 15(2), 127–145.
[17] Wein, S. (1985): Problems with contractarianism. Journal of Social Philosophy 16(3), 48–59.