Filozofska istraživanja, Vol. 43 No. 3, 2023.
Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.21464/fi43301
Rawls’ Theory of Justice in the Context of Mental Disorders
Kristina Lekić Barunčić
orcid.org/0000-0003-3921-4391
; Sveučilište u Rijeci, Filozofski fakultet, Sveučilišna avenija 4, HR–51000 Rijeka
Abstract
Rawls’ theory of justice is the subject of numerous criticisms due to the impossibility of adequately including people with mental disabilities, either as legislators or as beneficiaries of the principle of justice. Martha Nussbaum’s criticism is directed at the question of the legislative group and the possibility of including the interests of persons who, due to the criteria of rationality and reasonableness, are excluded from the process of forming fundamental principles of justice. In this paper, I recognize the problems that Rawls’s theory faces in light of the above criticisms, and as a solution, I propose a constructive and positive interpretation of his theory of justice. Such an interpretation will allow us to expand the group of legislators through the inclusion of those individuals with mental impairments who, according to Nussbaum, are capable of participating in the selection of principles of justice. Furthermore, the offered interpretation will include people with the most severe forms of mental disorders within the scope of justice, through an extended list of reasons relevant to the justification of fundamental rights and principles of justice.
Keywords
John Rawls; theory of justice; persons with mental disabilities; Martha Nussbaum
Hrčak ID:
315515
URI
Publication date:
6.11.2023.
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