Filozofska istraživanja, Vol. 43 No. 3, 2023.
Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.21464/fi43304
Capabilities and Justice for People Who Lack the Capacity for Reason and Rationality
Iva Martinić
orcid.org/0000-0002-4727-9761
; Sveučilište u Rijeci, Filozofski fakultet, Sveučilišna avenija 4, HR–51000 Rijeka
Elvio Baccarini
; Sveučilište u Rijeci, Filozofski fakultet, Sveučilišna avenija 4, HR–51000 Rijeka
Abstract
In the article, we consider the objections of the capability approach to Rawls’s theory of public justification. The objection is that Rawls’s theory is considered with an exclusive focus on reason and rationality as essential properties of justice, excluding from the domain of justice people who do not possess these properties (such as people with severe cognitive impairments). We point out the shortcomings of the alternative proposal to the capability theory, which is based on the dignity of the species, because we claim that no valid normative conclusions can be derived from the concept of the species. We conclude by adopting a model of public justification according to which duties and rights are determined by reasonable people (ideal legislators). Reasonable people impartially judge the principles of justice even for those who do not participate in the process of justification but deserve the recognition of rights by universalizing these rights. Through universalization, they justified these rights for themselves and for those they represented by presenting adequate representatives in the process of justifying the principles of justice for those who do not have the capability to be reasonable and rational.
Keywords
capabilities; fairness; rationality; reasonableness; public justification
Hrčak ID:
315518
URI
Publication date:
6.11.2023.
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