Michael Sandel's tour of the major theories of justice — utilitarian, libertarian, Kantian, Aristotelian — tested against hard moral dilemmas.
Books mentioned in Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do? (18)
A Theory of Justice by John Rawls: “In A Theory of Justice (1971), he rejects the counsel of complacence...”
On Liberty by John Stuart Mill: “His book On Liberty (1859) is the classic defense of individual freedom...”
Utilitarianism by John Stuart Mill: “In Utilitarianism (1861), a long essay Mill wrote shortly after On Liberty, he tries to show that utilitarians can distinguish higher pleasures from lower ones.”
Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant: “he published his first major book, The Critique of Pure Reason, which challenged the empiricist theory of knowledge...”
Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals by Immanuel Kant: “he published the Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, the first of his several works on moral philosophy.”
Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation by Jeremy Bentham: “Five years after Jeremy Bentham's Principles of Morals and Legislation (1780), Kant's Groundwork launched a devastating critique of utilitarianism.”
Anarchy, State, and Utopia by Robert Nozick: “In Anarchy, State and Utopia (1974), Robert Nozick offers a philosophical defense of libertarian principles...”
The Constitution of Liberty by Friedrich A. Hayek: “In The Constitution of Liberty (1960), the Austrian-born economist-philosopher Friedrich A. Hayek argued that any attempt to bring about greater economic equality was bound to be coercive...”
Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman: “In Capitalism and Freedom (1962), the American economist Milton Friedman argued that...”
Free to Choose by Milton and Rose Friedman: “the economist Milton Friedman published a bestselling book, co-authored with his wife, Rose, called Free to Choose.”
The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau: “In The Social Contract (1762), he argues that turning a civic duty into a marketable good does not increase freedom, but rather undermines it.”
The Republic by Plato: “In Plato's Republic, Socrates compares ordinary citizens to a group of prisoners confined in a cave.”
Politics by Aristotle: “'We thus see that the polis exists by nature and that it is prior to the individual,' he writes in Book I of The Politics.”
The Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle: “we need to consider the account of virtue and the good life that Aristotle presents in the Nicomachean Ethics.”
After Virtue by Alasdair MacIntyre: “In his book After Virtue (1981), he gives an account of the way we, as moral agents, arrive at our purposes and ends.”
Political Liberalism by John Rawls: “In 1993, Rawls published a book, Political Liberalism, that recast his theory in some respects.”
Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne: “I read them the book Winnie-the-Pooh, by A. A. Milne. The story evokes a...”
Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut: ““Harrison Bergeron,” a short story by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., plays out this worry as dystopian science fiction.”