Justice as Fittingness

Geoffrey Cupit puts forward a strikingly original theory of the nature of justice. He argues that injustice is closely related to unfitting treatment of people, and that justice is closely related to desert. His carefully argued discussion provides new insights into many important issues in moral and political philosophy.

In Justice as Fittingness Geoffrey Cupit puts forward a strikingly original theory of the nature of justice. He maintains that injustice is to be understood as a form of unfitting treatment--typically the treatment of people as less than they are. Justice is therefore closely related to unjustified contempt and disrespect, and ultimately to desert. Cupit offers a carefullly argued discussion of what is at issue when people take differing views on what justice requires. He demonstrates that the language of desert provides a suitable idiom in which to address substantive questions of justice, and shows why acting justly may require respect for differing entitlements, contributions, and needs. In the course of the book many important issues in moral and political philosophy are illuminated. Cupit offers a fresh account of the nature of the obligation to keep a promise, explains how requests can generate reasons for action, and suggests a radically new approach to solving the problem of political obligation. This work will offer fascinating insights to political, moral, and legal theorists alike. ''Anyone interested in issues of justice will enjoy Cupit''s lean but substantive analysis. Issues of law, politics, and morality are confronted in his claim that justice is related to the notion of fittingness. . . . Highly recommended for general readers and upper-division undergraduates through faculty.'' Choice