January 2, 2011
by peter.taylor
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I want to ask you, the reader, to be a scientist and try to make sense of data that link parents and offspring. Consider one plot (of your own choosing) from figures 1-4 depicting heights of 63 undergraduate college students … Continue reading
December 24, 2010
by peter.taylor
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Taylor [T]: Why are you so concerned about genetic determination of mental ability? Eysenck [E]: If abilities are determined by birth and society can predict who will be naturally talented, then it can allocate its resources more efficiently, for example, … Continue reading
December 23, 2010
by peter.taylor
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Toward a political theory of injustice (completing a series of posts) In listing of the burdens of building a theory of justice upon a basis of moral justification I have foreshadowed alternative approaches to questions of justice and injustice. This … Continue reading
December 22, 2010
by peter.taylor
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The burdens of moral justification My reconstruction+ of Rawls’ TJ has led us to a place where questions can be raised that challenge moral theory more generally. The inferred justification for foundationalist rhetoric given before the interlude, namely, the power … Continue reading
December 21, 2010
by peter.taylor
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Interlude: Constructivism+ in relation to other Critiques within Moral Philosophy (continuing a series of posts) The constructivist+ interpretation I have been developing is broadly sympathetic with feminist formulations of moral theory (Card 1991, Kittay and Meyers 1987), with post-modern, anti-foundationalist … Continue reading
December 20, 2010
by peter.taylor
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a constructivist+ perspective will lead to a much less generous assessment of Rawls’ coherence (continuing a series of posts) Rawls’ reconstruction+, phase 2 Two central components of Rawls’ derivation of his framework will concern me here, one explicit and the … Continue reading
December 19, 2010
by peter.taylor
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A reconstruction+ of Rawls, phase 1 (continuing a series of posts) The Original Position (O.P.) corresponds to a requirement that institutions of social justice be established (at least in broad outline) in an initial contract and not subject to repeated … Continue reading
December 18, 2010
by peter.taylor
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A reconstruction+ of Rawls, phase 1 (continuing a series of posts) To apply a constructivist+ perspective to Rawls in A Theory of Justice (TJ) requires reinterpretation of his work so as to include reference to its social background. Moreover, given … Continue reading
December 17, 2010
by peter.taylor
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From constructivism to constructivism+ (continuing a series of posts) A convenient route for me to begin to develop a constructivist+ perspective and its implications is opened up by the distinction between natural and constructivist theories of justice (see Dworkin [1973], … Continue reading
December 16, 2010
by peter.taylor
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Continuing from my first post using a “constructivism+” framework to reconstruct Rawls’s Theory of Justice: Constructivism+, to be consistent, must be applicable to its proponents’ own arguments. Let me help readers begin to develop an interpretation of the social location … Continue reading