LEGAL THEORY WORKSHOP

presents

Professor T.M. Scanlon
Harvard University Department of Philosophy

When Does Equality Matter?

Friday, October 22, 2010
12:30 - 2:00 PM
Solarium (room FA2) - Falconer Hall
84 Queen's Park

It is an important truth that everyone—including at least all human beings—counts morally, and must be taken into account in the justification of social institutions and policies. But this general principle of moral equality leaves open questions of substantive equality, about when people should be made equal in some particular respect, such as in the enjoyment of some particular benefit. I argue that answers to this question are diverse: that there are many different reasons why substantive equality of various kinds matters, and why inequality of these kinds is objectionable. The paper examines a number of different reasons of this kind, and considers how they apply to various cases of inequality.

T. M. Scanlon teaches moral and political philosophy at Harvard, where he has been since 1984. He has written on general questions about the nature of morality, and on particular issues such as moral responsibility, promises, equality, tolerance, and freedom of expression. He is the author of What We Owe to Each Other (Harvard University Press, 1998), The Difficulty of Tolerance: Essays in Political Philosophy (Cambridge University Press, 2003) and Moral Dimensions: Permissibility, Meaning, Blame (Harvard University Press, 2008).

A light lunch will be provided.

For more workshop information, please contact Nadia Gulezko at n.gulezko@utoronto.ca.