Getting back to moral basics

Studies have shown that children develop an innate sense of fairness and justice from a very young age. But if you look around the world today, you’ll find little evidence that this carries over into adulthood. So, can we really claim to know the difference between right and wrong, to know what is just and what isn’t?

Seemingly not.

Ethics and its social application, political philosophy, have been areas of philosophical study for thousands of years. In the 1970’s, however, the moral philosopher John Rawls came up with a very simple, effective and influential idea for assessing what’s fair. In doing so, he developed a robust theory of justice. After many decades of increasing inequality in our society, could his theories provide us with an ethical antidote?

We will be looking at the age-old concept of justice through the lens of egalitarianism. This philosophical approach attempts to reduce the impact of social inequalities to ensure a fair distribution of resources.

Good to know:

We take pride in putting the fun back into serious philosophy through our friendly and respectful discussions involving different levels of experience of philosophy. Collectively exploring interesting and exciting ideas from different viewpoints is what the Lit & Phil Philosophy Forum is all about.

Please read John Pickersgill’s focus paper Getting Back to Moral Basics before the 30th of May to enrich and guide our discussions. Don’t worry if you find some of it difficult, ethics is a minefield!

We ask for a £5 donation from non-Lit & Phil members towards costs, but only if you can afford it.

We are usually oversubscribed, so if you book but find out later that you cannot attend, please cancel your ticket to free up a place for someone else. Thank you.

Host or Publisher The Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society