Justice and Public Instruments (Public Ethics from the Perspective of Justice Theory)

Author: Zhan Shiyou
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-12-01
Features: This book is a moral philosophical exploration of the just values of public ethical relationships and their institutional implementation. Starting from the concept of "rights," which is initially empty yet self-grounding, it explores the process of the realization of rights in various institutions, involving the characteristics of just values and their implementation in family, civil (citizen) society, state, and public administrative agencies. Justice theory must be a "philosophy of rights." The degree of civilized development of a public institution is measured by how far it moves away from "coercion" and toward respect for and realization of "rights." Only a system that respects and realizes people's various rights embodies its public justice value and can become a "public instrument for all under heaven." Public institutions that embody the value of "public justice" need people who have been cultivated with corresponding public virtues to operate them. However, to cultivate people's public virtues, a just system is required as its environment. Therefore, just institutions and public virtues are mutually complementary. The formation of public virtues first requires cultivating public reasoning ability and integrating this ability into people's emotions, desires, and temperament, thereby forming corresponding qualities—this is what is meant by "public virtue."