Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Session I - Challenging Theories of Justice: The Capability Approaches of Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum



Thank you everybody who registered for the course On Justice: Sen and NussbaumPlease note that we begin our first session on 3 January 2012 (Tuesday) at 2:30 pmWe will be meeting at the Library, Department of Philosophy, Arts Faculty Building, University of Delhi.

The lecture, followed by discussion — a two hours programme — will be based on the first chapter of Amartya Sen's Inequality Reexamined, titled 'Equality of What?'. The speaker, Professor Jay Drydyk will presume a prior reading on the part of all the participants.

Questions to be addressed in the lecture

1.  What was the context of debate in which Sen wrote this piece?
2.  What are his arguments for the claim that every significant theory of justice must answer the ‘equality of what’ question? (Please consider this while reading Sen’s chapter.)
3.  What is the significance of these arguments, in the wider context of debate?

Questions for the discussion period

1.  Questions about the lecture.
2.  Concerning Sen’s first, historical argument that every significant theory of social arrangements calls for equality of something: are there further counter-examples? From Indian traditions?
3.  Concerning Sen’s second, theoretical argument, from impartiality or equal consideration:
(a) Is it just a Western idea that equal consideration matters?
(b) Is it just a modern idea that equal consideration matters?
(c) Does justice sometimes require that one is not impartial, but partial, for example towards one’s own family? Towards one’s own country?
(d) Is there also a question, ‘Equal consideration of what?’ For instance, libertarians would call for equal consideration of everyone’s liberty, utilitarians would call for equal consideration of everyone’s happiness, and so on. Would that undermine Sen’s argument?
4.  Other questions arising from the reading or from the discussion.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

On Justice: Sen & Nussbaum

Course Duration: 3 January - 21 February, 2012: A series of six weekly lectures (on Tuesdays)
ByJay Drydyk, Professor, Department of Philosophy, Carleton University, Ottawa

Challenging Theories of Justice: The Capability Approaches of Amartya Sen and Martha NussbaumThis series of lectures/discussions focuses on challenges posed to prevailing liberal theories of justice (especially that of John Rawls) by the capability approach as developed by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum. The first three sessions will be devoted to the capability concepts that Sen introduced to provide an alternative ‘informational base’ for social choice and deliberation, followed by his arguments that social contract theories are neither necessary nor sufficient nor even very useful for achieving greater justice in the world. Then attention shifts to Martha Nussbaum’s arguments that social contract approaches are typically unable to account for injustices to disabled persons, to global injustice, or to injustices towards non-humans - the three ‘frontiers of justice’. Readings and discussion questions will be proposed for each session.

Reading List
1. Sen, 'Equality of What?' [chapter 1] of Inequality Reexamined, 1992.
2. Sen, 'Capability and Well-being' [chapter 2] of The Quality of Life, [eds] Sen and Nussbaum, 1993.
3. Sen, 'Introduction', The Idea of Justice, 2009.
4. Nussbaum, 'Social Contracts and Three Unsolved Problems of Justice', [chapter 1] of Frontiers of Justice, 2006, pp. 9-35.
5. Nussbaum, 'Social Contracts and Three Unsolved Problems of Justice', [chapter 1] of Frontiers of Justice, 2006, pp. 35-69.
6. Nussbaum, 'Social Contracts and Three Unsolved Problems of Justice', [chapter 1] of Frontiers of Justice, 2006, pp. 69-95.

To register for this course please email silikamohapatra@gmail.com


There are no registration or course charges. At the end of the course, you will receive a certificate of participation.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Reading Group: 5 December 2011


Abide with me;
Fast falls the eventide

Given that this Tuesday is an official holiday, we meet tomorrow, i.e. Monday, to read Chapter 7: God and the World, the last remaining chapter of the text.

Date: 5 December 2011 (Monday)
Time: 2:30 pm
Venue: Library, Department of Philosophy, University of Delhi