04115nam 2200745 a 450 991082655040332120230422042445.01-282-75362-297866127536261-4008-2288-21-4008-1129-510.1515/9781400822881(CKB)111056486505720(EBL)581544(OCoLC)700688283(SSID)ssj0000116518(PQKBManifestationID)11141775(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000116518(PQKBWorkID)10033833(PQKB)10942770(MiAaPQ)EBC581544(OCoLC)51542680(MdBmJHUP)muse36043(DE-B1597)446260(OCoLC)979577851(OCoLC)984657566(DE-B1597)9781400822881(Au-PeEL)EBL581544(CaPaEBR)ebr10035778(CaONFJC)MIL275362(EXLCZ)9911105648650572019980813d1999 uy 0engurnn#---|u||utxtccrBy nature equal[electronic resource] the anatomy of a Western insight /John E. Coons and Patrick M. Brennan ; with a foreword by John Witte, JrCore TextbookPrinceton, N.J. Princeton University Pressc19991 online resource (388 p.)New forum booksDescription based upon print version of record.0-691-05922-5 Includes bibliographical references (p. [261]-348) and index.Front matter --CONTENTS --ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND APOLOGY /Coons, John E. --FOREWORD /Witte, John --INTRODUCTION: In Search of a Descriptive Human Equality --PART I: HUMAN EQUALITY: WHAT DOES IT MEAN? --PART II: COULD THE PHILOSOPHERS BELIEVE IN HUMAN EQUALITY? --PART III: COULD THE CHRISTIANS BELIEVE IN HUMAN EQUALITY? --PART IV: GOOD PERSONS AND THE COMMON GOOD --NOTES --INDEXWhat do we mean when we refer to people as being equal by nature? In the first book devoted to human equality as a fact rather than as a social goal or a legal claim, John Coons and Patrick Brennan argue that even if people possess unequal talents or are born into unequal circumstances, all may still be equal if it is true that human nature provides them the same access to moral self-perfection. Plausibly, in the authors' view, such access stems from the power of individuals to achieve goodness simply by doing the best they can to discover and perform correct actions. If people enjoy the same degree of natural capacity to try, all of us are offered the same opportunities for moral self-fulfillment. To believe this is to believe in equality. This truly interdisciplinary work not only proposes the authors' own rationale but also provides an effective deconstruction of several other contemporary theories of equality, while it engages historical, philosophical, and Christian accounts as well. Furthermore, by divorcing the "best" from the "brightest," it shows how descriptive equality acquires practical significance. Among other accomplishments, By Nature Equal offers communitarians a core principle that has until now eluded them, rescues human dignity from the hierarchy of intellect, identifies racism in a new way, and shows how justice can be freshly grounded in the conviction that every rational person has the same capacity for moral excellence.New forum books.EqualityPhilosophyEqualityReligious aspectsEquality before the lawEqualityPhilosophy.EqualityReligious aspects.Equality before the law.305/.01Coons John E291944Brennan Patrick M.1966-1705914Witte John1959-510813MiAaPQMiAaPQMiAaPQBOOK9910826550403321By nature equal4092990UNINA