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

For Session III of the course On Justice, the reading is: ‘Introduction’ from Amartya Sen’s The Idea of Justice.

Date: 17 January 2012 (Tuesday)
Time: 3.00 pm - 5.00 pm

Venue: Room 56, First Floor, Arts Faculty Building, University of Delhi

Reading/lecture questions

1. What is Sen’s idea of justice, anyway? What does reasoning have to do with it?
2. What is Sen’s feasibility argument, and is it sound?
3. What are Sen’s redundancy arguments, and are they sound?
4. Can a comparative approach escape these problem

Discussion questions

1. Is Sen’s assessment of the difference between niti and nyaya sound?
2. Is Sen’s assessment of the discussion between Arjuna and Krishna sound?
3. Does the social contract tradition have a future?