An enduring theme of Western philosophy is that we are all one
another’s equals. Yet the principle of basic equality is woefully
under-explored in modern moral and political philosophy. In a major
new work, Jeremy Waldron attempts to remedy that shortfall with a
subtle and multifaceted account of the basis for the West’s
commitment to human equality. What does it mean to say we are all
one another’s equals? Is this supposed to distinguish humans from
other animals? What is human equality based on? Is it a religious
idea, or a matter of human rights? Is there some essential feature
that all human beings have in common? Waldron argues that there is
no single characteristic that serves as the basis of equality. He
says the case for moral equality rests on four capacities that all
humans have the potential to possess in some degree: reason,
autonomy, moral agency, and the ability to love. But how should we
regard the differences that people display on these various
dimensions? And what are we to say about those who suffer from
profound disability—people whose claim to humanity seems to
outstrip any particular capacities they have along these lines?
Waldron, who has worked on the nature of equality for many years,
confronts these questions and others fully and unflinchingly. Based
on the Gifford Lectures that he delivered at the University of
Edinburgh in 2015, One Another’s Equals takes Waldron’s
thinking further and deeper than ever before.
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