What We Owe to Each Other

Rating:
Summary: A bible of contractualism
Review: Despite being quite unsympathetic to the substantive moral theory developed in this book, I found it absorbing and helpful. It is weak on direct argument, both for its metaphysical and epistemological claims, and for its normative theory. But it is a beautiful presentation of a distinctive and distinguished view, and it would be churlish not to give it five stars.

Rating:
Summary: Class book
Review: I had to read this book for a Philosophy class in college. My professor loves this book. I found it a little hard to follow at points. But since we discussed it in class I learned quite a bit from it. I would recommend "What We Owe to Each Other" to those interested in reading it. Or people just interested in more modern philosophy than just reading the same old dusty books.

Rating:
Summary: A precious book
Review: This book lies somehow between contratualism and discourse theory, since it rests on contractarian assumptions but concentrates in the processes of reason giving between people that are willing to abide to principles that could be so justified. It has family resenblances with the works of authors such as John Rawls, Brian Barry, Jurgen Habermas, and Robert Alexy. It is based on a distinction between religious morality in a stric sense and the morality of what we owe to each other as free and equal persons fully capable of giving reasons for our behavior. It is a precious book for those willing to have a deeper understanding of the normative implications of freedom, equality, responsability and reciprocity. A precious book.