Political Philosophy, Empathy and Political Justice [Hardcover]

In this work, Matt Edge offers an innovative approach to political philosophy. He invites the reader to consider the question of political justice from an empathic perspective - if you were asked to construct a theory of justice acceptable to members of a community you were not yourself a part of, how would you succeed in making your proposal acceptable? What tools would you rely on to construct such a theory, and why? Equally, what would make anyone qualified to write such a theory?

Using empathy, this remarkable, natural, tool human beings possess for making moral and ethical decisions, and, thereby, placing yourself as someone on the receiving end of the very theory of justice you yourself are constructing, what would you come up with? What set of alterable human structures and systems would you deem acceptable, were you to find yourself in the position of a citizen living under such structures?

Political Philosophy, Empathy and Political Justiceoffers a unique and compelling account of the type of free system required to pass an empathic examination at the heart of these, and related, questions, matters which define all human eras, in the constant search for political and social justice on our diverse planet.

Introduction  1. Empathy and Political Philosophy  2. Empathy  3. The Empathy Test  4. Radical Concern: Political Philosophy on Foot  5. Freedom and Empathy  6. A Theory of Freedom  Conclusion

Matt Edges Political Philosophy, Empathy and Political Justiceis an important contribution to the growing body of literature on empathy and justice. Building on the works of John Rawls, Michael Slote, and others, Edge develops an intriguing thought experiment  the empathy test  for generating an empathic theory of justice. He then shows how empathy can provide a blc0