A Passion for Justice: Emotions and the Origins of the Social Contract

358 Pages·1995·47.997 MB·English

by  Robert Solomon

pm
r jK
PJ USA
CANADA
A PASSION
FOR JUSTICE
Robert C. Solomon
A Passion for Justice is a breathtaking
vision of the world that shows us that
justice is a virtue we all share — a func-
tion of personal character — and not a
grand theory, an abstraction of govern-
ment, or the musings of philosophers.
Arguing plainly and brilliantly, with
examples from Plato to Ivan Boesky, and
ranging from science to philosophy to
economics, Robert Solomon writes about
how we live, and how we feel we ought
to live, in a world that seems arbitrary,
unfair, and unjust.
Whether discussing compassion or self-
ishness, altruism or revenge, or how fairly
to grade a class of bright, motivated stu-
dents, Solomon leads us to understand
that justice — and the urge to do some-
thing about it — is an essential ingredient
in our lives and it is, accordingly, the
responsibility of each and every one of us.
Ours may not be a just world, but in the
end A Passion for Justice convinces us
that there are no excuses, and justice, if it
is to be found anywhere, must be found
in each one of us.
Continued on hack flap
BOSTON
PUBLIC
LIBRARY

A PASSION FOR JUSTICE
J
PASSION
FOR
JUSTICE
Emotions and the
Origins of the
Social Contract
ROBERT C. SOLOMON
Addison^Wesley Publishing Company, Inc*
Reading, Massachusetts • Menlo Park, California • New York
Don Mills, Ontario • Wokingham, England • Amsterdam • Bonn
Sydney • Singapore • Tokyo • Madrid • San Juan
Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products
are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and Addison-
Wesley was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed in initial capi-
tal letters (e.g., MasterCard).
Library of Congress Catalogingan-Publication Data
Solomon, Robert C.
A passion for justice : emotions and the origins of the social
contract / Robert C. Solomon,
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-201-12966-3
1. Social justice. 2. Social contract. I. Title
HM216.S585 1990 90-32051
303.3'72-dc20 CIP
Copyright © 1990 by Robert C. Solomon
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy-
ing, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Printed in the United States of America. Published simultaneously in Canada.
Jacket design by Marge Anderson
Text design by Sherry Streeter
Set in 11-point Goudy Old Style by Pine Tree Composition, Lewiston, ME
ABCDEFG-MW-93210
First Printing, June 1990
For Jem, Jesi, Danyal
For Rachel and Carrie
and for Alexander K.
This book and,
I hope,
a decent world to live in.
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2017 with funding from
Kahle/Austin Foundation
https://archive.org/details/passionjusticeOOrobe