Overview

How should we conceive of the vulnerability which we all experience, and what import does it have for how we think of equality as a political ideal? How should the state express equal respect for its citizens in light of our common vulnerability, and the heightened vulnerability experienced by some citizens? What does it mean for us to treat each other as equals in light of the inevitable dependencies and vulnerabilities which colour our relationship with each other? This volume offers the first systematic exploration of the relationship between two increasingly central concepts in political and moral philosophy and theory, namely vulnerability and relational equality, with essays presenting a range of current philosophical perspectives on the pressing practical question of how to conceive of equality within society in light of vulnerability. It will be valuable for readers interested in political philosophy and theory, ethics, public policy and philosophy of law.

Full Product Details

Author:   Costanza Porro (Lancaster University) ,  Christine Straehle (University of Hamburg and University of Ottawa)
Publisher:   Cambridge University Press
Imprint:   Cambridge University Press
Weight:   0.500kg
ISBN:  

9781009379854

ISBN 10:   1009379852
Pages:   280
Publication Date:   30 April 2026
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   Not yet available, will be POD  
This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon it's release. This is a print on demand item which is still yet to be released.

Table of Contents

Introduction Costanza Porro and Christine Straehle; Part I. Conceptions of Vulnerability and Relational Equality: 1. Thomas Hobbes, vulnerability, and relational equality Daniel Engster; 2. Distributive and relational vulnerability: a thick dispositional analysis Natalie Stoljar; 3. Epistemological vulnerability, autonomy, and relational equality Christine Straehle; 4. Vulnerability, risk and relational equality Costanza Porro; Part II. Vulnerability, Relational Equality and Society: 5. Vulnerability, domination, and the conditions of equality Alexander Bryan; 6. Asymmetric vulnerability without subordination: reconciling value-enabling vulnerability with relational equality Daniel Sharp; 7. Interactional equality Kimberley Brownlee; 8. The acknowledgement of vulnerability as a condition of relational equality Marie Garrau; Part III. Vulnerability, Relational Equality and the State: 9. Vulnerability, expressive disrespect, and presumptive distrust: a case of institutional injustice Catriona Mackenzie; 10. Paternalism and relational equality – responses to older people's vulnerability Susan Dodds; 11. Relational equality and vulnerability to social disrespect Giacomo Floris; Bibliography; Index.

Reviews

Author Information

Costanza Porro is a Lecturer in Political Philosophy at Lancaster University. She has published a number of articles and book chapters on theories of equality, the ethics and politics of care, the philosophy of vulnerability and the philosophy of criminal punishment. Christine Straehle is Professor for Practical Philosophy at the University of Hamburg and Professor for Ethics at the University of Ottawa. She has edited or co-edited several volumes, including (with David Miller) The Political Philosophy of Refuge (Cambridge, 2019).

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Countries Available

All regions