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The Morality of Equality

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Author(s):
Lucas Cardoso Petroni
Total Authors: 1
Document type: Doctoral Thesis
Press: São Paulo.
Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH/SBD)
Defense date:
Examining board members:
Alvaro de Vita; Darlei Dall'Agnol; Filipe Augusto Barreto Campello de Melo; Rurion Soares Melo; Luiz Sergio Repa
Advisor: Alvaro de Vita
Abstract

The work holds that the value of equality is best understood in a determined way. Against nonegalitarian theories such as libertarian, instrumentalist and sufficentarian theories - on one side, and distributive-based theories such as the luck egalitarianism - on the other, the thesis offers and evaluate, based on normative arguments, a relational interpretation of egalitarianism to be called social egalitarianism. What makes social egalitarianism a distinctive type of theory is its normative foundation: an ideal of mutual respect responsible for governing the interpersonal relations between free and equal persons. The work intends to show that a relational interpretation of equality is able to provide the basis for a (i) coherent, (ii) morally relevant, and (iii) distributive determined ground for egalitarian theories of justice. In order to stablish all that, it shows, first, how the legitimate exercise of political coercion among equals in authority brings about a particular kind of interpersonal attitude, called deliberative respect. Next, it is argued that the notion of deliberative respect allows us to conceptualize a particular instance of disrespect among equals, namely, the performative disrespect against a right-holder, and showing why respectful relations among equals in authority should be framed in a secondperson standpoint morality a morality according to each people are mutually accountable to each other - as the idea has been developed by Stephen Darwall. Finally, the work argues for the conceptual compatibility between social egalitarianism, on one hand, and distributive principles of justice, on the other. Two principles of justice are considered: (i) the principle of the civic minimum and (ii) the principle of participation in social wealth. From an egalitarian standpoint, both principles are required in order to bring about a just democratic citizenship. (AU)

FAPESP's process: 12/24854-6 - The normative grounds of social justice
Grantee:Lucas Cardoso Petroni
Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate