Review Essay: Justice for Earthlings, David Miller  

Oleh:

Baycan, Esma

Jenis: Article from Journal - ilmiah internasional
Dalam koleksi: Ethical Perspectives: Journal of the European Ethics Network vol. 21 no. 3 (Sep. 2014), page 429 - 439.
Topik: Political Philosophy; Lamentation

Ketersediaan

Perpustakaan Pusat (Semanggi) Nomor Panggil: EE45 Non-tandon: 1 (dapat dipinjam: 0) Tandon: tidak ada

Lihat Detail Induk

Isi artikel

David Miller, a prominent contemporary political philosopher affiliated to liberal nationalism, writes on issues of nationality, citizenship, migration, social and global justice. He is best known for his advocacy of the importance of the nation state and nationality in times of transition. With the exception of the 10th chapter: “A Tale of Two Cities; or, Political Philosophy as Lamentation”, most of the chapters in Justice for Earthlings (JfE) have already been published elsewhere, In this 10th chapter, in reference to St Augustine’s distinction between the earthly and heavenly cities, Miller draws an analogy between the heavenly city and ideal-theorizing in justice. His critique is that such an understanding “[...] places justice so far out of reach of human beings that nothing we can practically achieve will bring us significantly closer to the cherished goal” (230). Miller’s main aim in JfE is to favour a theory of justice in which the principles originate in the social contexts that they are assigned to regulate. By implication, contemporary normative theory should be more realistic and less utopian on justice if it wants to avoid being “[...] a lament for what might have been if the human condition were different” (15). Instead, it should focus on justice ‘here on earth’ as a point of departure and help to organize contradictory human beliefs on justice. In short, Miller defends a moral contextualism that can provide both practical and critical advice on policy decisions for the existent state, as opposed to efforts to define what justice is in its universal, abstract, cosmopolitan and perfect form. In what follows, I will present Miller’s main argument in JfE and then critically discuss his methodology.

Opini Anda

Klik untuk menuliskan opini Anda tentang koleksi ini!

Kembali