Amartya Sen’s Idea of Justice
This seminar will be devoted to reading Amartya Sen’s book: The Idea of Justice. The main goal will be to acquire a comprehensive understanding of Sen’s conception of social justice by means of a careful reading of the book. This will enable us to discuss important topics such as: a) the notion of “capability” and the question of freedom, b) the ethics of development and the problem of poverty, c) the relationships between economics, ethics and politics, d) the means and purpose of public policies and political action. Since Amartya Sen articulates his idea of justice in contrast to Rawl’s theory of justice, we will also examine the discussion with Rawls that develops throughout the book.
- Professor: Patrice Canivez