Jonathan Wolff and Avner De-Shalit
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199278268
- eISBN:
- 9780191707902
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199278268.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter deepens the discussion of the nature of disadvantage by asking: what categories of functionings exhaust those necessary to construct a full philosophical theory of disadvantage? ...
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This chapter deepens the discussion of the nature of disadvantage by asking: what categories of functionings exhaust those necessary to construct a full philosophical theory of disadvantage? Beginning with a list offered by Martha Nussbaum, and Sen's capability approach, the concepts of capability and functionings are further analysed, using the method of ‘dynamic public reflective equilibrium’. This involves a dialogue between the philosopher and the public, in this case a series of interviews with disadvantaged people and with professionals who take care of disadvantaged people in a variety of fields. The result is that while basically Nussbaum's list is shown to be intuitive, four additional categories are suggested. Thus, a new list of functionings is devised as part of the task of setting out a particular pluralist account of disadvantage.Less
This chapter deepens the discussion of the nature of disadvantage by asking: what categories of functionings exhaust those necessary to construct a full philosophical theory of disadvantage? Beginning with a list offered by Martha Nussbaum, and Sen's capability approach, the concepts of capability and functionings are further analysed, using the method of ‘dynamic public reflective equilibrium’. This involves a dialogue between the philosopher and the public, in this case a series of interviews with disadvantaged people and with professionals who take care of disadvantaged people in a variety of fields. The result is that while basically Nussbaum's list is shown to be intuitive, four additional categories are suggested. Thus, a new list of functionings is devised as part of the task of setting out a particular pluralist account of disadvantage.
Kaushik Basu and Ravi Kanbur (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199239115
- eISBN:
- 9780191716935
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199239115.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
The year 2008 marks Amartya Sen's 75th birthday. Amartya has made deep and lasting contributions to the academic disciplines of economics, philosophy, and more broadly the social sciences. He has ...
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The year 2008 marks Amartya Sen's 75th birthday. Amartya has made deep and lasting contributions to the academic disciplines of economics, philosophy, and more broadly the social sciences. He has engaged in policy dialogue and public debate, advancing the cause of a human development focused policy agenda, and a tolerant and democratic polity. This argumentative Indian has made the case for the poorest of the poor, and for plurality in cultural perspective. It is not surprising that he has won the highest awards, ranging from the Nobel Prize in Economics to the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor. This public recognition has gone hand in hand with the affection and admiration that Amartya's colleagues and students hold for him. This is the first book in a two-volume Festschrift for Amartya Sen. The chapters, from across a range of social science disciplines, are written by some of the world's leading thinkers. This first book covers the topics of ethics, normative economics, and welfare; agency, aggregation, and social choice; poverty, capabilities, and measurement; and identity, collective action, and public economics. It is a fitting tribute to Sen's own contributions to the discourse on ethics, welfare and measurement.Less
The year 2008 marks Amartya Sen's 75th birthday. Amartya has made deep and lasting contributions to the academic disciplines of economics, philosophy, and more broadly the social sciences. He has engaged in policy dialogue and public debate, advancing the cause of a human development focused policy agenda, and a tolerant and democratic polity. This argumentative Indian has made the case for the poorest of the poor, and for plurality in cultural perspective. It is not surprising that he has won the highest awards, ranging from the Nobel Prize in Economics to the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor. This public recognition has gone hand in hand with the affection and admiration that Amartya's colleagues and students hold for him. This is the first book in a two-volume Festschrift for Amartya Sen. The chapters, from across a range of social science disciplines, are written by some of the world's leading thinkers. This first book covers the topics of ethics, normative economics, and welfare; agency, aggregation, and social choice; poverty, capabilities, and measurement; and identity, collective action, and public economics. It is a fitting tribute to Sen's own contributions to the discourse on ethics, welfare and measurement.
Kaushik Basu and Ravi Kanbur
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199239115
- eISBN:
- 9780191716935
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199239115.003.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
The Introduction outlines the Amartya Sen's career starting in the UK at the London School of Economics and then at Oxford. It also briefly mentions his time at Harvard and Cambridge. The chapter ...
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The Introduction outlines the Amartya Sen's career starting in the UK at the London School of Economics and then at Oxford. It also briefly mentions his time at Harvard and Cambridge. The chapter discusses how he became interested in welfare economics during all this time. It then goes on to outline the content in this volume and the subsequent volume. Less
The Introduction outlines the Amartya Sen's career starting in the UK at the London School of Economics and then at Oxford. It also briefly mentions his time at Harvard and Cambridge. The chapter discusses how he became interested in welfare economics during all this time. It then goes on to outline the content in this volume and the subsequent volume.
Kaushik Basu and Ravi Kanbur
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199239979
- eISBN:
- 9780191716874
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199239979.003.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
The Introduction outlines the Amartya Sen's career starting in the UK at the London School of Economics and then at Oxford. It also briefly mentions his time at Harvard and Cambridge. The chapter ...
More
The Introduction outlines the Amartya Sen's career starting in the UK at the London School of Economics and then at Oxford. It also briefly mentions his time at Harvard and Cambridge. The chapter discusses how he became interested in poverty and basic needs during all this time. It then goes on to outline the content in the first volume and this second volume.Less
The Introduction outlines the Amartya Sen's career starting in the UK at the London School of Economics and then at Oxford. It also briefly mentions his time at Harvard and Cambridge. The chapter discusses how he became interested in poverty and basic needs during all this time. It then goes on to outline the content in the first volume and this second volume.
Sabina Alkire
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199245796
- eISBN:
- 9780191600838
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199245797.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
The author examines how Amartya Sen's capability approach can be coherently—and practically—put to work in participatory poverty reduction activities so that the voices and values of the poor matter. ...
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The author examines how Amartya Sen's capability approach can be coherently—and practically—put to work in participatory poverty reduction activities so that the voices and values of the poor matter. Sen argues that economic development should expand ‘valuable’ capabilities; the author probes how what is valuable can be identified. Sen deliberately left the capability approach ‘incomplete’ in order to ensure its relevance to persons and cultures with different understandings of the good. The book has an introductory chapter, followed by 2 parts, and a brief appendix that looks at some of Sen's formalized relationships and proposes various amendments to these. Part I (4 chapters) proposes a framework for identifying valuable capabilities that retains this ‘fundamental’ incompleteness and space for individual and cultural diversity. It draws Sen's work into discussion with a number of authors and critics, especially John Finnis, in order to suggest a possible way in which the value issues may be addressed coherently, and the methodological implications worked out in a participatory manner. The author addresses foundational issues regarding the identification and pursuit of valuable dimensions of human development based in practical reason, then observes that much of the criticism of development arises from negative impacts on social or cultural/religious dimensions that are also deeply valued by the poor. Part I closes with a four‐part ‘operational definition’ of basic capability that bridges ‘basic needs’, participation, and informed consent. Part II (2 chapters) critically discusses one narrow set of methodologies (those of micro‐project evaluation) and suggests a tool for improving the evaluation of participatory projects that are consistent with the tenets of reason advanced in Part I—an alternative participatory method for systematically identifying valued changes in participants’ capability sets. Three case studies of women's income generation activities in Pakistan—goat‐rearing, adult literacy, and rose cultivation—contrast economic cost‐benefit analysis of each activity with capability analysis.Less
The author examines how Amartya Sen's capability approach can be coherently—and practically—put to work in participatory poverty reduction activities so that the voices and values of the poor matter. Sen argues that economic development should expand ‘valuable’ capabilities; the author probes how what is valuable can be identified. Sen deliberately left the capability approach ‘incomplete’ in order to ensure its relevance to persons and cultures with different understandings of the good. The book has an introductory chapter, followed by 2 parts, and a brief appendix that looks at some of Sen's formalized relationships and proposes various amendments to these. Part I (4 chapters) proposes a framework for identifying valuable capabilities that retains this ‘fundamental’ incompleteness and space for individual and cultural diversity. It draws Sen's work into discussion with a number of authors and critics, especially John Finnis, in order to suggest a possible way in which the value issues may be addressed coherently, and the methodological implications worked out in a participatory manner. The author addresses foundational issues regarding the identification and pursuit of valuable dimensions of human development based in practical reason, then observes that much of the criticism of development arises from negative impacts on social or cultural/religious dimensions that are also deeply valued by the poor. Part I closes with a four‐part ‘operational definition’ of basic capability that bridges ‘basic needs’, participation, and informed consent. Part II (2 chapters) critically discusses one narrow set of methodologies (those of micro‐project evaluation) and suggests a tool for improving the evaluation of participatory projects that are consistent with the tenets of reason advanced in Part I—an alternative participatory method for systematically identifying valued changes in participants’ capability sets. Three case studies of women's income generation activities in Pakistan—goat‐rearing, adult literacy, and rose cultivation—contrast economic cost‐benefit analysis of each activity with capability analysis.
Ian Carter
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198294535
- eISBN:
- 9780191598951
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198294530.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Most of those political philosophers who have tried to make sense of claims about degrees of freedom have proposed that the individual options available to the agent be weighted in terms of their ...
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Most of those political philosophers who have tried to make sense of claims about degrees of freedom have proposed that the individual options available to the agent be weighted in terms of their values (whether the subjective values of the agent, objective values or the values of the agent’s society). Most prominent among these authors are Charles Taylor, Amartya Sen, Richard Arneson and Richard Norman. This value-based approach to measuring freedom can be shown to conflict with the view that we are interested in measuring freedom only because freedom has non-specific value. It therefore renders degree-of-freedom statements normatively superfluous. Moreover, even if interpreted as a way of making purely rhetorical sense of such statements, the approach has counterintuitive implications.Less
Most of those political philosophers who have tried to make sense of claims about degrees of freedom have proposed that the individual options available to the agent be weighted in terms of their values (whether the subjective values of the agent, objective values or the values of the agent’s society). Most prominent among these authors are Charles Taylor, Amartya Sen, Richard Arneson and Richard Norman. This value-based approach to measuring freedom can be shown to conflict with the view that we are interested in measuring freedom only because freedom has non-specific value. It therefore renders degree-of-freedom statements normatively superfluous. Moreover, even if interpreted as a way of making purely rhetorical sense of such statements, the approach has counterintuitive implications.
Judy Fudge
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780197264911
- eISBN:
- 9780191754098
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264911.003.0004
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This chapter considers the relationship between women's equality, care work, and sustainable development, and develops a conceptual framework that can be used to understand this complex relationship. ...
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This chapter considers the relationship between women's equality, care work, and sustainable development, and develops a conceptual framework that can be used to understand this complex relationship. The chapter is organized as follows. The second section briefly reviews the relationship between sustainable development, which includes the International Labour Organisation's (ILO) ‘Decent Work’ Agenda, and women's equality. It answers the question on what basis or dimension women's equality should be measured. Instead of assessing a range of potential answers, it focuses on Amartya Sen's notion of substantive freedom and his capabilities approach. The third section argues that women's equality, and especially the relationship between women's equality and responsibility for care work, illustrates both the promise of, and the limitations to, Sen's capabilities approach. The fourth section sketches some of the salient differences between paid and unpaid care work in the North and the South, which also considers the capacity of the ILO 2009 report, ‘Decent Work for Domestic Workers’, to respond to these differences. Drawing upon feminist scholars, the fifth section argues that, supplemented by a theory of choice, deliberative mechanisms, and a social theory of power, the capabilities approach can be a useful tool for conceptualising women's equality and for recognising the significance of socially necessary care work. The chapter concludes by suggesting that a robust capabilities approach designed to address gender inequality and to incorporate care work illuminates the limitations in the current approaches of antidiscrimination law for addressing women's inequality.Less
This chapter considers the relationship between women's equality, care work, and sustainable development, and develops a conceptual framework that can be used to understand this complex relationship. The chapter is organized as follows. The second section briefly reviews the relationship between sustainable development, which includes the International Labour Organisation's (ILO) ‘Decent Work’ Agenda, and women's equality. It answers the question on what basis or dimension women's equality should be measured. Instead of assessing a range of potential answers, it focuses on Amartya Sen's notion of substantive freedom and his capabilities approach. The third section argues that women's equality, and especially the relationship between women's equality and responsibility for care work, illustrates both the promise of, and the limitations to, Sen's capabilities approach. The fourth section sketches some of the salient differences between paid and unpaid care work in the North and the South, which also considers the capacity of the ILO 2009 report, ‘Decent Work for Domestic Workers’, to respond to these differences. Drawing upon feminist scholars, the fifth section argues that, supplemented by a theory of choice, deliberative mechanisms, and a social theory of power, the capabilities approach can be a useful tool for conceptualising women's equality and for recognising the significance of socially necessary care work. The chapter concludes by suggesting that a robust capabilities approach designed to address gender inequality and to incorporate care work illuminates the limitations in the current approaches of antidiscrimination law for addressing women's inequality.
Sabina Alkire
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199245796
- eISBN:
- 9780191600838
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199245797.003.0003
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
Each of the four chapters of Part I of the book synthesizes one aspect that must be specified in the operationalization of the capability approach, then proposes a framework for doing so. This third ...
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Each of the four chapters of Part I of the book synthesizes one aspect that must be specified in the operationalization of the capability approach, then proposes a framework for doing so. This third chapter considers the kind of ethical rationality that accompanies the capability approach, in which free choice between plural ends is given central place, and the information required to complete rational comparisons of diverse human development initiatives. The chapter proposes ingredients for making substantive and value judgements in dialogue with Amartya Sen's writings and concerns on related subjects. It is argued that the wider conception of rationality identified by Sen and John Finnis offer systematic ways of approaching substantive and value judgements that retain the fundamental incompleteness of the capability approach and do not impose a comprehensive doctrine of good. The different sections of the chapter are: Multidimensionality and Evaluation; Ethical Rationality in Poverty Reduction; Sen's Informational Pluralism; Sen's Principle Pluralism; Finnis's Principle Pluralism; Ethical Rationality Reconsidered; and Operational Considerations.Less
Each of the four chapters of Part I of the book synthesizes one aspect that must be specified in the operationalization of the capability approach, then proposes a framework for doing so. This third chapter considers the kind of ethical rationality that accompanies the capability approach, in which free choice between plural ends is given central place, and the information required to complete rational comparisons of diverse human development initiatives. The chapter proposes ingredients for making substantive and value judgements in dialogue with Amartya Sen's writings and concerns on related subjects. It is argued that the wider conception of rationality identified by Sen and John Finnis offer systematic ways of approaching substantive and value judgements that retain the fundamental incompleteness of the capability approach and do not impose a comprehensive doctrine of good. The different sections of the chapter are: Multidimensionality and Evaluation; Ethical Rationality in Poverty Reduction; Sen's Informational Pluralism; Sen's Principle Pluralism; Finnis's Principle Pluralism; Ethical Rationality Reconsidered; and Operational Considerations.
Sabina Alkire
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199245796
- eISBN:
- 9780191600838
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199245797.003.0005
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
Each of the four chapters of Part I of the book synthesizes one aspect that must be specified in the operationalization of the capability approach, then proposes a framework for doing so. This fifth ...
More
Each of the four chapters of Part I of the book synthesizes one aspect that must be specified in the operationalization of the capability approach, then proposes a framework for doing so. This fifth chapter returns to the issues of whether basic capabilities pertaining to absolute poverty may be identified from without, and whether in poverty reduction activities it is necessary to focus on ‘achieving functionings’ rather than ‘expanding capabilities’. It applies the account of values and decision‐making processes built up in the previous three chapters to the issue of poverty with which economic development is concerned, and asks what, in practice, it means to address absolute poverty within the capability approach—whether and if ‘basic capabilities’ can be specified. It discusses the relativity of these basic capabilities, and the operational implications of focusing on capability rather than functionings, and finally proposes a schematic four‐part operational definition for pursuing capabilities. The focus is on Amartya Sen's work.Less
Each of the four chapters of Part I of the book synthesizes one aspect that must be specified in the operationalization of the capability approach, then proposes a framework for doing so. This fifth chapter returns to the issues of whether basic capabilities pertaining to absolute poverty may be identified from without, and whether in poverty reduction activities it is necessary to focus on ‘achieving functionings’ rather than ‘expanding capabilities’. It applies the account of values and decision‐making processes built up in the previous three chapters to the issue of poverty with which economic development is concerned, and asks what, in practice, it means to address absolute poverty within the capability approach—whether and if ‘basic capabilities’ can be specified. It discusses the relativity of these basic capabilities, and the operational implications of focusing on capability rather than functionings, and finally proposes a schematic four‐part operational definition for pursuing capabilities. The focus is on Amartya Sen's work.
Jonathan Wolff and Avner De-Shalit
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199278268
- eISBN:
- 9780191707902
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199278268.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter discusses the nature of disadvantage. It opens with an analysis of the pluralism of disadvantage, and rejects the ‘monist’ view. If instead of building a theory of equality on imaginary ...
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This chapter discusses the nature of disadvantage. It opens with an analysis of the pluralism of disadvantage, and rejects the ‘monist’ view. If instead of building a theory of equality on imaginary examples, theorists start by examining real life cases, it will become clear that not all disadvantages are reducible to each other, and therefore disadvantage is plural in its nature. But this pluralism implies that there will be a problem of indexing: deciding which disadvantages are more important or urgent. The capability approach, developed by Amartya Sen and others, serves as the starting point for the theory advanced here. According to this theory, in order to understand how well or badly someone's life is going, we need to attend to what they can ‘do and be’; their ‘capability to function’.Less
This chapter discusses the nature of disadvantage. It opens with an analysis of the pluralism of disadvantage, and rejects the ‘monist’ view. If instead of building a theory of equality on imaginary examples, theorists start by examining real life cases, it will become clear that not all disadvantages are reducible to each other, and therefore disadvantage is plural in its nature. But this pluralism implies that there will be a problem of indexing: deciding which disadvantages are more important or urgent. The capability approach, developed by Amartya Sen and others, serves as the starting point for the theory advanced here. According to this theory, in order to understand how well or badly someone's life is going, we need to attend to what they can ‘do and be’; their ‘capability to function’.
Sabina Alkire
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199245796
- eISBN:
- 9780191600838
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199245797.003.0004
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
Each of the four chapters of Part I of the book synthesizes one aspect that must be specified in the operationalization of the capability approach, then proposes a framework for doing so. This fourth ...
More
Each of the four chapters of Part I of the book synthesizes one aspect that must be specified in the operationalization of the capability approach, then proposes a framework for doing so. This fourth chapter considers the relationship between choice, self‐direction, and the construction of cultural values and identities. It analyses the different possible values of community participation in poverty reduction initiatives, and also draws out considerations regarding the responsibilities that outside actors may have in generating and providing to decision‐makers the information necessary to make informed choices. It draws Amartya Sen's capability approach into discussion with the participatory processes that have been common in micro‐economic development initiatives, and that are becoming increasingly popular in macroeconomic approaches as well, and, in particular, focuses on community participation in development activities that are partly supported by resources external to the community, whether these be from regional or national government, NGOs, or other sources. The main sections of the chapter are: Participation: Means, Ends, Debate, and Identity; Subsidiarity; and External Assistance.Less
Each of the four chapters of Part I of the book synthesizes one aspect that must be specified in the operationalization of the capability approach, then proposes a framework for doing so. This fourth chapter considers the relationship between choice, self‐direction, and the construction of cultural values and identities. It analyses the different possible values of community participation in poverty reduction initiatives, and also draws out considerations regarding the responsibilities that outside actors may have in generating and providing to decision‐makers the information necessary to make informed choices. It draws Amartya Sen's capability approach into discussion with the participatory processes that have been common in micro‐economic development initiatives, and that are becoming increasingly popular in macroeconomic approaches as well, and, in particular, focuses on community participation in development activities that are partly supported by resources external to the community, whether these be from regional or national government, NGOs, or other sources. The main sections of the chapter are: Participation: Means, Ends, Debate, and Identity; Subsidiarity; and External Assistance.
Sabina Alkire
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199245796
- eISBN:
- 9780191600838
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199245797.003.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
Starts with an overview of the problem of capability and valuation in the context of Amartya Sen's capability approach. It describes the book as an attempt to operationalize the capability approach, ...
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Starts with an overview of the problem of capability and valuation in the context of Amartya Sen's capability approach. It describes the book as an attempt to operationalize the capability approach, and takes as a focal problem the need for a methodology by which Oxfam field staff in Pakistan could identify which ‘valuable’ capabilities a development activity had expanded or contracted. The rest of the chapter identifies the problem more precisely: Sen's capability approach is introduced, and several salient criticisms of it are reviewed; the need for a framework is discussed; and the approach taken by John Finnis summarized. Finally, the key terms and sources used in the book are introduced, and the structure of the book is outlined, showing the relation of each chapter to the overall topic. The chapters are tethered to the problem of how to identify, obtain, and process the information that is required to implement the capability approach in the assessment of poverty reduction initiatives at the micro‐economic level.Less
Starts with an overview of the problem of capability and valuation in the context of Amartya Sen's capability approach. It describes the book as an attempt to operationalize the capability approach, and takes as a focal problem the need for a methodology by which Oxfam field staff in Pakistan could identify which ‘valuable’ capabilities a development activity had expanded or contracted. The rest of the chapter identifies the problem more precisely: Sen's capability approach is introduced, and several salient criticisms of it are reviewed; the need for a framework is discussed; and the approach taken by John Finnis summarized. Finally, the key terms and sources used in the book are introduced, and the structure of the book is outlined, showing the relation of each chapter to the overall topic. The chapters are tethered to the problem of how to identify, obtain, and process the information that is required to implement the capability approach in the assessment of poverty reduction initiatives at the micro‐economic level.
William Talbott
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- April 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195173475
- eISBN:
- 9780199835331
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195173473.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
In this book, William Talbott builds on the work of J.S. Mill, John Rawls, and Jürgen Habermas to develop a new equilibrium model for moral reasoning, in which moral reasoning is primarily bottom-up, ...
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In this book, William Talbott builds on the work of J.S. Mill, John Rawls, and Jürgen Habermas to develop a new equilibrium model for moral reasoning, in which moral reasoning is primarily bottom-up, from judgments about particular actual and hypothetical cases to norms or principles that best explain the particular judgments. Employing the equilibrium model, Talbott builds on the work of John Rawls, Amartya Sen, and Henry Shue to explain how, over the course of history, human beings have learned to adopt a distinctively moral standpoint from which it is possible to make reliable, though not infallible, universal judgments of right and wrong. He explains how this distinctively moral standpoint has led to the discovery of the moral importance of nine basic human rights. The book is constructed around pivotal examples. Talbott uses the example of Bartolomé de Las Casas and his opposition to the Spanish colonists’ treatment of the American natives in the 16th century to illustrate the possibility of attaining a universal moral standpoint. He uses the example of the development of women's rights as a microcosm of the development of basic human rights. He argues that assertions of basic human rights are almost always a response to oppressive norms justified by self-reinforcing paternalism. Talbott uses examples from Marxist dictatorships to show the importance of basic human rights in solving what he refers to as the reliable feedback problem and the appropriate responsiveness problem for governments. He uses Sen’s research on famines and psychological research on the ultimatum game and other related games to explain how individual fairness judgments from the moral standpoint make rights-respecting democracies self-improving self-regulating systems that become more just over time. Undoubtedly, the most controversial issue raised by the claim of universal human rights is the issue of moral relativism. How can the advocate of universal rights avoid being a moral imperialist? In this book, Talbott shows how to defend basic individual rights from a universal moral point of view that is not imperialistic. Talbott avoids moral imperialism, first, by insisting that all of us, himself included, have moral blindspots and that we usually depend on others to help us to identify those blindspots; second, by emphasizing the importance of avoiding moral paternalism. In the book, Talbott develops a new consequentialist account of the importance of the basic human rights, which he employs to augment the more familiar nonconsequentialist accounts.Less
In this book, William Talbott builds on the work of J.S. Mill, John Rawls, and Jürgen Habermas to develop a new equilibrium model for moral reasoning, in which moral reasoning is primarily bottom-up, from judgments about particular actual and hypothetical cases to norms or principles that best explain the particular judgments. Employing the equilibrium model, Talbott builds on the work of John Rawls, Amartya Sen, and Henry Shue to explain how, over the course of history, human beings have learned to adopt a distinctively moral standpoint from which it is possible to make reliable, though not infallible, universal judgments of right and wrong. He explains how this distinctively moral standpoint has led to the discovery of the moral importance of nine basic human rights. The book is constructed around pivotal examples. Talbott uses the example of Bartolomé de Las Casas and his opposition to the Spanish colonists’ treatment of the American natives in the 16th century to illustrate the possibility of attaining a universal moral standpoint. He uses the example of the development of women's rights as a microcosm of the development of basic human rights. He argues that assertions of basic human rights are almost always a response to oppressive norms justified by self-reinforcing paternalism. Talbott uses examples from Marxist dictatorships to show the importance of basic human rights in solving what he refers to as the reliable feedback problem and the appropriate responsiveness problem for governments. He uses Sen’s research on famines and psychological research on the ultimatum game and other related games to explain how individual fairness judgments from the moral standpoint make rights-respecting democracies self-improving self-regulating systems that become more just over time. Undoubtedly, the most controversial issue raised by the claim of universal human rights is the issue of moral relativism. How can the advocate of universal rights avoid being a moral imperialist? In this book, Talbott shows how to defend basic individual rights from a universal moral point of view that is not imperialistic. Talbott avoids moral imperialism, first, by insisting that all of us, himself included, have moral blindspots and that we usually depend on others to help us to identify those blindspots; second, by emphasizing the importance of avoiding moral paternalism. In the book, Talbott develops a new consequentialist account of the importance of the basic human rights, which he employs to augment the more familiar nonconsequentialist accounts.
Ingrid Robeyns
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199239115
- eISBN:
- 9780191716935
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199239115.003.0022
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This chapter reconsiders the differences between Amartya Sen's capability approach and John Rawls's justice as fairness approach. Sen's most important critique on Rawlsian justice concerns the ...
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This chapter reconsiders the differences between Amartya Sen's capability approach and John Rawls's justice as fairness approach. Sen's most important critique on Rawlsian justice concerns the inflexibility of social primary goods as the metric of justice. Rawls has argued that this critique implies that the capability approach endorses a comprehensive moral doctrine. In addition, Rawls has criticized the capability approach for failing to provide a workable and public conception of political justice. It is argued that the different kinds of theory that Rawls and Sen are pursuing explain much of their disagreement. Moreover, for a full comparison each theory needs to be further developed: the capability approach requires further theoretical elaboration as a theory of justice, while justice as fairness has to be developed for non-ideal circumstances. This reinterpretation of the Rawls–Sen debate allows for an understanding of the capability approach and justice as fairness as complementary and potentially converging theories.Less
This chapter reconsiders the differences between Amartya Sen's capability approach and John Rawls's justice as fairness approach. Sen's most important critique on Rawlsian justice concerns the inflexibility of social primary goods as the metric of justice. Rawls has argued that this critique implies that the capability approach endorses a comprehensive moral doctrine. In addition, Rawls has criticized the capability approach for failing to provide a workable and public conception of political justice. It is argued that the different kinds of theory that Rawls and Sen are pursuing explain much of their disagreement. Moreover, for a full comparison each theory needs to be further developed: the capability approach requires further theoretical elaboration as a theory of justice, while justice as fairness has to be developed for non-ideal circumstances. This reinterpretation of the Rawls–Sen debate allows for an understanding of the capability approach and justice as fairness as complementary and potentially converging theories.
Pablo Gilabert
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199639717
- eISBN:
- 9780191739033
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199639717.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter addresses the feasibility challenge against conceptions of global justice as it applies to the fulfillment of basic socioeconomic human rights. Section 4.1 introduces the challenge. ...
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This chapter addresses the feasibility challenge against conceptions of global justice as it applies to the fulfillment of basic socioeconomic human rights. Section 4.1 introduces the challenge. Section 4.2 provides an analysis of the concept or feasibility. It identifies different types, domains, and degrees of feasibility, and explains how feasibility interacts with moral desirability in the justification of obligations. Section 4.3 accounts for the role of feasibility and desirability in the design, critique, and revision of conceptions of justice, domestic and global. Section 4.4 identifies two broad strategies of response to feasibility obstacles, one focused on levels of generality and the other on temporal variation. The notion of “dynamic duties” to expand feasible sets of political action is introduced. Section 4.5 identifies two important feasibility obstacles to the pursuit of basic global justice, which concern nonideal circumstances of lack of robust international institutions and a strong ethos of cosmopolitan solidarity. Section 4.6 responds by deploying the idea of dynamic duties within a transitional standpoint; it explores mechanisms of political empowerment such as institutional experimentation, protest, and public deliberation.Less
This chapter addresses the feasibility challenge against conceptions of global justice as it applies to the fulfillment of basic socioeconomic human rights. Section 4.1 introduces the challenge. Section 4.2 provides an analysis of the concept or feasibility. It identifies different types, domains, and degrees of feasibility, and explains how feasibility interacts with moral desirability in the justification of obligations. Section 4.3 accounts for the role of feasibility and desirability in the design, critique, and revision of conceptions of justice, domestic and global. Section 4.4 identifies two broad strategies of response to feasibility obstacles, one focused on levels of generality and the other on temporal variation. The notion of “dynamic duties” to expand feasible sets of political action is introduced. Section 4.5 identifies two important feasibility obstacles to the pursuit of basic global justice, which concern nonideal circumstances of lack of robust international institutions and a strong ethos of cosmopolitan solidarity. Section 4.6 responds by deploying the idea of dynamic duties within a transitional standpoint; it explores mechanisms of political empowerment such as institutional experimentation, protest, and public deliberation.
Polly Vizard
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199273874
- eISBN:
- 9780191699719
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199273874.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This chapter analyses the ways in which Amartya Sen's work contributes to ethical debates concerning the characterisation of fundamental freedoms and human rights. It explores in particular the ways ...
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This chapter analyses the ways in which Amartya Sen's work contributes to ethical debates concerning the characterisation of fundamental freedoms and human rights. It explores in particular the ways in which Sen's development of the ‘capability approach’ provides a framework in which the capability to achieve a standard of living adequate for survival and development — including adequate nutrition, safe water and sanitation, shelter and housing, access to basic health and social services, and education — is characterised as a basic human right that governments and other actors have individual and collective obligations to defend and support. Sen's work is shown to have moved the debates about global poverty and human rights in ethics and political theory. These aspects of Sen's work provide elements of — or a partial basis for — a theory of human rights that includes the elimination of global poverty as a central and critical objective.Less
This chapter analyses the ways in which Amartya Sen's work contributes to ethical debates concerning the characterisation of fundamental freedoms and human rights. It explores in particular the ways in which Sen's development of the ‘capability approach’ provides a framework in which the capability to achieve a standard of living adequate for survival and development — including adequate nutrition, safe water and sanitation, shelter and housing, access to basic health and social services, and education — is characterised as a basic human right that governments and other actors have individual and collective obligations to defend and support. Sen's work is shown to have moved the debates about global poverty and human rights in ethics and political theory. These aspects of Sen's work provide elements of — or a partial basis for — a theory of human rights that includes the elimination of global poverty as a central and critical objective.
Polly Vizard
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199273874
- eISBN:
- 9780191699719
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199273874.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This chapter focuses on Amartya Sen's research agenda and how it has focused international attention on the importance of fundamental freedoms and human rights for economic analysis as he contrasts ...
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This chapter focuses on Amartya Sen's research agenda and how it has focused international attention on the importance of fundamental freedoms and human rights for economic analysis as he contrasts the neglect of human rights in theoretical and empirical economics. His critiques on standard frameworks reached out far enough. The incorporation of new variables and concerns into theoretical and empirical economics as well as individual entitlement was one among his far-reaching proposals. Part of this proposal tackled capabilities and functionings including gender discrimination and the civil, political, economic, and social rights. Sen's proposal provided a framework for valuation of fundamental freedoms and human rights in the economic aspect by shifting the paradigm away from income, growth, and utility, and into human rights concerns and variables.Less
This chapter focuses on Amartya Sen's research agenda and how it has focused international attention on the importance of fundamental freedoms and human rights for economic analysis as he contrasts the neglect of human rights in theoretical and empirical economics. His critiques on standard frameworks reached out far enough. The incorporation of new variables and concerns into theoretical and empirical economics as well as individual entitlement was one among his far-reaching proposals. Part of this proposal tackled capabilities and functionings including gender discrimination and the civil, political, economic, and social rights. Sen's proposal provided a framework for valuation of fundamental freedoms and human rights in the economic aspect by shifting the paradigm away from income, growth, and utility, and into human rights concerns and variables.
Bina Agarwal
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199239979
- eISBN:
- 9780191716874
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199239979.003.0010
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This chapter engages with three aspects of Amartya Sen's writings, applying, contesting, or extending his ideas to throw light on intra-family gender relations. First, it applies his ...
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This chapter engages with three aspects of Amartya Sen's writings, applying, contesting, or extending his ideas to throw light on intra-family gender relations. First, it applies his conceptualization of family relations as relations of both cooperation and conflict, and his entitlement approach, to explain why families might breakup during famines, when the wife's fall-back position collapses while that of the husband is still partly intact. Second, it contests his claim that women in traditional societies suffer from false perceptions about their self-interest, and so become complicit in perpetuating their unequal position. It can be shown that the same behaviour could arise from women's lack of options. Third, the chapter demonstrates the importance of taking into account women's relative capabilities (and not just absolute capabilities) in determining their well-being outcomes, and uses the example of domestic violence to identify empirically perverse capability effects. It also highlights the critical role of women's property status in determining their economic and social well-being.Less
This chapter engages with three aspects of Amartya Sen's writings, applying, contesting, or extending his ideas to throw light on intra-family gender relations. First, it applies his conceptualization of family relations as relations of both cooperation and conflict, and his entitlement approach, to explain why families might breakup during famines, when the wife's fall-back position collapses while that of the husband is still partly intact. Second, it contests his claim that women in traditional societies suffer from false perceptions about their self-interest, and so become complicit in perpetuating their unequal position. It can be shown that the same behaviour could arise from women's lack of options. Third, the chapter demonstrates the importance of taking into account women's relative capabilities (and not just absolute capabilities) in determining their well-being outcomes, and uses the example of domestic violence to identify empirically perverse capability effects. It also highlights the critical role of women's property status in determining their economic and social well-being.
Polly Vizard
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199273874
- eISBN:
- 9780191699719
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199273874.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Nobel Laureate Professor Amartya Sen has been actively involved in ethics and economics and from his works emerged an international view of global poverty as a human rights issue. His research ...
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Nobel Laureate Professor Amartya Sen has been actively involved in ethics and economics and from his works emerged an international view of global poverty as a human rights issue. His research program contributed to development of new steps geared towards global poverty and human rights. Sen's work in ethics paved the way to develop a framework in which fields of poverty and human rights can be understood. He also focused on the economics of poverty and pioneered the development of a framework for theoretical and empirical analysis. There are different agendas presented in this introductory chapter which starts on examining the global poverty on international human rights scale. There is also a brief review as to how international laws act upon human rights system to governments and other involved organisations, the need for a cross-disciplinary framework and analytical overview of Sen's contributions.Less
Nobel Laureate Professor Amartya Sen has been actively involved in ethics and economics and from his works emerged an international view of global poverty as a human rights issue. His research program contributed to development of new steps geared towards global poverty and human rights. Sen's work in ethics paved the way to develop a framework in which fields of poverty and human rights can be understood. He also focused on the economics of poverty and pioneered the development of a framework for theoretical and empirical analysis. There are different agendas presented in this introductory chapter which starts on examining the global poverty on international human rights scale. There is also a brief review as to how international laws act upon human rights system to governments and other involved organisations, the need for a cross-disciplinary framework and analytical overview of Sen's contributions.
Ayesha Jalal
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199239979
- eISBN:
- 9780191716874
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199239979.003.0025
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
For a diehard secularist, Amartya Sen may not appear to have much in common with Muhammad Iqbal, the poet and philosopher of the East who took great pride in his Muslim identity. This chapter argues ...
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For a diehard secularist, Amartya Sen may not appear to have much in common with Muhammad Iqbal, the poet and philosopher of the East who took great pride in his Muslim identity. This chapter argues that the two, although removed in time and space, actually had broad-ranging and overlapping intellectual interests in philosophy, economics, politics, and nationalism. The philosophy and economics that molded Iqbal's thinking in the first decade of the 20th century were obviously different from what Sen was exposed to half a century later. Yet there are some important parallels in their philosophical conceptions of human freedom and equality that merit identification and elucidation. In analyzing these, the chapter demonstrates that far from being a barrier, their divergent stands on religion create a fruitful tension that offers fresh insights into the relevance of their respective approaches to the problem of poverty and inequality in the contemporary world.Less
For a diehard secularist, Amartya Sen may not appear to have much in common with Muhammad Iqbal, the poet and philosopher of the East who took great pride in his Muslim identity. This chapter argues that the two, although removed in time and space, actually had broad-ranging and overlapping intellectual interests in philosophy, economics, politics, and nationalism. The philosophy and economics that molded Iqbal's thinking in the first decade of the 20th century were obviously different from what Sen was exposed to half a century later. Yet there are some important parallels in their philosophical conceptions of human freedom and equality that merit identification and elucidation. In analyzing these, the chapter demonstrates that far from being a barrier, their divergent stands on religion create a fruitful tension that offers fresh insights into the relevance of their respective approaches to the problem of poverty and inequality in the contemporary world.
