Overview

This is a finely argued, detailed, and comprehensive systematic theory of justice, brilliantly extending Hegelian ethics much as Rawls's Theory of Justice rehabilitated and extended classical Liberalism. Winfield argues that justice, like reason, must be self-grounding, and that to achieve this, it must be self-determined. The theory of justice must therefore abandon its appeal to metaphysically given or transcendentally constituted norms and instead determine the institutions of freedom. In pursuit of this task, Winfield offers insightful discussions of property relations, morality, the family, capital and commodity relations, economic and social justice, and the state. In contrast to Liberalism, which sees the state as instrumental to non-political ends, Winfield defends the democratic state as the just realization of freedom. Throughout, it is argued that justice is defined interactively, where one's freedom is determined by how one's interactions respect and foster the institutional freedom of others. Although the author's arguments proceed systematically, at each stage he deals adroitly with the relevant major thinkers in the Western tradition-not only with Hegel, but with the ancients, the classical liberals, Marx, and contemporaries such as Rawls.

Full Product Details

Author:   Richard Dien Winfield
Publisher:   State University of New York Press
Imprint:   State University of New York Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.472kg
ISBN:  

9780887067112

ISBN 10:   0887067115
Pages:   336
Publication Date:   08 July 1988
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
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Table of Contents

Introduction 1. The Two Traditional Approaches to Justification 1.1 The Appeal to Privileged Givens 1.2 The Appeal to a Privileged Determiner 2. The Challenges of Scepticism and Nihilism 3. The Current Impasse in Normative Theory 3.1 The Rehabilitation of the Foundational Approaches to Justice 3.2 The Resigned Embrace of Descriptive Theories of Justice 4. The Alternative of a Systematic Philosophy without Foundations Part I. Dilemmas of the Metaphysical Approach to Truth and Justice 1. Given Determinacy and Justification 1.1 Positive Science and the Problem of the Given 1.2 The Lure of Privileged Givenness and the Path of Metaphysics 1.3 The Problem of Grounding Reason on Privileged Givens 1.3.1 The Lesson of Logical Positivism 1.3.2 The Impossibility of Justifying Any First Principles of Reasoning 1.4 Problems of the Metaphysical Conception of Reality 2. The Metaphysics of Justice 2.1 Plato's Discovery of the Basic Logic of Praxis Theory 2.2 Aristotle's Politics and the Internal Collapse of Praxis Theory 2.2.1 The Good and the Shadow of Relativism 2.2.2 Thje Praxis of Politics and the Appeal to Nature 2.2.2.1 The Genesis of the State and the Relation between Politics and Non-Political Associations 2.2.2.2 The Constitution of the State and Privileged Givenness Part II. The Critique of the Given and the Appeal to a Privileged Determiner 3. The Futile Temptation of Transcendental Argument 3.1 The Move from the Privileged Givenness to a Privileged Determiner 3.2 The Temptation of the Transcendental Project 3.3 The Fundamental Dilemmas of Transcendental Philosophy 3.4 The Self-Elimination of Transcendental Argument 4. The Justice of Liberty 4.1 From Praxis to Liberty: The Rise of Freedom as the Principle of Justice 4.1.1 Freedom and the Validity of Justice 4.1.2 The Basic Dilemma of Liberal Theory 4.1.3 The Universal, Particular, and Individual Dimensions of Willing 4.2 The Logic of Liberty and the Paradoxes of Social Contract 4.2.1 The Natural Will and the State of Nature 4.2.2 The Perplexities of Social Contract 5. The Promise and Illusion of Practical Reason 5.1 Practical Reason and the Individuality of Freedom 5.2 The Impracticality of Practical Reason 5.3 Civil Society in the Service of Practical Reason 5.4 The Miscarriage of Rawls' Rehabilitation of Social Contract Theory 5.4.1 The Hidden Assumptions of Pure Procedural Justice 5.4.2 The Collapse of Rawls' Derivation of the Two Principles of Justice 5.4.3 The Incoherence of the Move to the Original Position Part III. Freedom from Foundations and the Validity of Self-Determination 6. Self-Determination and Systematic Philosophy 6.1 The Perplexity of Abandoning the Appeal to Privileged Givens and Privileged Determiners 6.1.1 The Futile Route of Holism 6.2 Indeterminacy, Self-Determination, and Freedom from Foundations 6.2.1 Self-Determination as Immanent Development from Indeterminacy 6.2.2 The Advance from Indeterminacy as Self-Determination 6.3 Moving from Indeterminacy to Determinacy without Foundations 7. The Theory of Determinacy and the Quests for Truth and Justice 7.1 The Nature of the Logic of Determinacy 7.1.1 The Theory of Determinacy as a Science of Logic 7.1.2 The Argument of the Theory of Determinacy 7.1.3 Systematic Philosophy versus Coherence Theories of Truth 7.1.4 The Limit of the Theory of Determinacy 7.2 The Move from the Theory of Determinacy to the Theory of Reality 7.2.1 The Dogma of Realism and Idealism 7.2.2 Beyond Realism and Idealism 7.3 Normativity, Rational Reconstruction, and the Theory of Justice 7.3.1 Freedom as Normativity 7.3.2 The Rational Reconstruction of Justice Part IV. The System of Justice 8. The Elementary Structures of Freedom 8.1 Justice as the Reality of Freedom 8.1.1 Freedom as Interaction: The Deduction of the Concept of Right 8.1.2 The Dilemma of Foundational Theories of Interaction 8.1.3 The Minimal Structure of Right 8.1.4 The Original Appropriation of Property 8.1.5 The Solution to the Vicious Circularity of Original Appropriation 8.2 The Move beyond the Minimal Structure of Justice 8.2.1 The Limits of Property 8.3 Morality and the Realization of Right 9. The Family as an Institution of Freedom 9.1 The Basic Structure of the Free Housegold 9.2 Natural Difference and Household Rights 9.2.1 Gender, Sexual Orientation, and the Rights of Spouses 9.2.2 Monogamy and the Nuclear Family 9.2.3 Natural versus Ethical Parenthood 9.3 The Place of Children in the Family 9.4 The Limits of Family Freedom 10. Economic Freedom and the Just Society 10.1. Justice and the Just Society 10.1.1 The Problem of a Just Economy 10.2 The Critique of Political Economy 10.2.1 The Dilemma of Political Economy 10.2.2 The Failure of Marx's Critique of Political Economy 10.2.3 The Promise of Hegel's Critique of Political Economy 10.3 Economic Freedom as the Minimal Structure of Social Justice 10.3.1 Social Freedom and Commodity Relations 11. Capital and the Legitimacy of Commodity Relations 11.1 The Questions Raised by the Conflicting Theories of Hegel and Marx 11.2 Justice and Commodity Exchange 11.2.1 Needs and Commodities as Factors of Freedom 11.2.2 Commodity Exchange and Exchange Value 11.2.3 The Labor Theory of Value and the Justice of Exchange 11.2.4 Capital and the Just Economy 11.2.5 The Subordinate Role of Capital in the Commodity Economy 11.3 Class and Economic Justice 12. The Realization of Social Justice 12.1 The Limits of Economic Freedom 12.2 The Social Enforcement of Property and Household Rights 12.3 Economic Interest Groups and the Just Society 12.4 Social Freedom and the Public Administration of Welfare 12.5 The Limits of Social Freedom 13. Democracy and the Just State 13.1 The Mandate of Political Freedom 13.1.1 The Injustice of Instrumental Politics 13.1.2 The Sovereignty of Politics 13.2 The Just Relation between State and Society 13.3 The Justice of Democracy 13.3.1 The Apparent Injustice of Political Freedom 13.3.2 The Wrong Defenses of Democracy 13.3.2.1 Jefferson's Appeal to Praxis and Liberty 13.3.2.2 Democracy and Rousseau's General Will 13.3.2.3 The Pitfall of Lenin's Proletarian Democracy 13.3.3 The Three Requirements for the Justification of Democracy 13.4 Constitutionality, Positive Law, and Democracy 13.5 Constitutional Self-Government and the Division of Powers 13.6 Democracy for its Own Sake 14. The Historical Genesis of Justice 14.1 The Grounds for Rejecting any Philosophy of Factual Freedom 14.2 Freedom and the Genesis of Justice 14.3 The Political Character of the Genesis of Justice 14.4 The Foundation of the Just State and the Riddle of Constitution-Making 14.5 Formal versus Real Constitution-Making 14.6 Factual History and the Genesis of Justice Notes Index

Reviews

"""This book is a rigorously argued and uncompromising presentation of the neo-Hegelian view that a foundation-free philosophy is possible, that normative validity derives only from self-determination, and that justice is tied to reason and consists in the reality of freedom. As such, it presents a minority view that is powerful and controversial. In this age when many neo-Hegelians have lost a uniquely Hegelian character by abandoning the system and stressing intersubjectivity and interpretation, Winfield adopts an opposite point of view, presenting a systematic political philosophy based on self-determination, reason, and logic."" - Peter G. Stillman, Vassar College ""There are several things I like about this book: first, the breadth of the discussion covering the major figures, including Plato, Aristotle, Contractarians, Hegel, and Marx, and their different approaches in the history of philosophy; and, second, the systematic argument sustained through the whole manuscript. Winfield grounds his social philosophy in a new theory of epistemology and of metaphysics. Finally, I like the breadth of topics covered in Winfield's own systematic theory of justice."" - Wilfried Ver Eecke, Georgetown University"

This book is a rigorously argued and uncompromising presentation of the neo-Hegelian view that a foundation-free philosophy is possible, that normative validity derives only from self-determination, and that justice is tied to reason and consists in the reality of freedom. As such, it presents a minority view that is powerful and controversial. In this age when many neo-Hegelians have lost a uniquely Hegelian character by abandoning the system and stressing intersubjectivity and interpretation, Winfield adopts an opposite point of view, presenting a systematic political philosophy based on self-determination, reason, and logic. - Peter G. Stillman, Vassar College There are several things I like about this book: first, the breadth of the discussion covering the major figures, including Plato, Aristotle, Contractarians, Hegel, and Marx, and their different approaches in the history of philosophy; and, second, the systematic argument sustained through the whole manuscript. Winfield grounds his social philosophy in a new theory of epistemology and of metaphysics. Finally, I like the breadth of topics covered in Winfield's own systematic theory of justice. - Wilfried Ver Eecke, Georgetown University

Author Information

Richard Dien Winfield is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Georgia. He is also the author of The Just Economy.

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