The legitimacy of one’s actions was a prevalent subject in human philosophy since the dawn of time. It is in nature of human beings to justify their actions, especially when the consequences of such actions walk a narrow margin between right and wrong. To tackle these slippery and controversial issues, many philosophers have done their best to create moral frameworks upon which every event and situation could be judged. The tradition of looking for the ultimate moral code transitioned through many schools of thought from Aristotle to thinkers of the Renaissance and modern philosophers.
The fact that there are so many definitions of justice and freedom means that all of the available answers are inconclusive and wrong. The book Justice: What is the Right Thing to Do? was written by Michael J. Sandel and published in 2009. It was written to accompany the man’s course on the concepts of justice written for the students of Harvard University. It does not have the pretense of providing an answer to this dilemma. Instead, it offers an overview of the defining approaches towards it that exist in philosophy, with examples of how they could be applied to real-life scenarios.
The book is separated into ten parts, each addressing a specific subject pertaining the morals and philosophy. The major topics addressed are utilitarian, egalitarian, libertarian, and ethical philosophies. The author does not claim either to be superior. After providing ample examples that validate every point of view, he deconstructs every single theory by offering situations where the right choice is not very obvious. The reader is made to jump from one view to another.
As a result, not finding solace or any solid ground to stand on, no framework to act as a ground point. I think this indicates what Michael Sandel wanted to achieve with his book – he raises questions and offers several answers for them, but none of them are conclusive. Through that, the author illustrates the flaws of every conventional system of worldviews. They are inflexible and do not accommodate for every situation. The author encourages his readers to embark on a journey of creating one’s philosophy by seeking answers to questions he poses throughout his book (Sandel 10).
The book offers a persuasive argument. It illustrates its point by asking textbook ethical problems and presenting real-life cases that could help relate to the subject (Sandel 16). The author presents every point of view from different sides, without being subjective in its analysis. It is compelling and exciting to read about. The writing of the text is easy to read and understand, and it is not overfilled with unnecessary words. If you look at it that way, Justice: What is the Right Thing to Do? is an excellent book.
However, what I disliked was the message that the author seemed to be sending us. By going out of his way to prove everybody wrong, he encourages the readers to find the answer for themselves, instead of providing his own. While the search for truth is a noble goal, many readers may interpret this message as a call for inaction. A friend of mine, who read this book with me, concluded that there is no point in trying to establish what is right and what is wrong since no matter what choice you make you would be wrong anyway. His opinion represents the thoughts of an average reader. I believe that inaction and indecisiveness are more dangerous than a wrong action in the long run, as most evils nowadays are committed not through a wrong choice, but because of the inaction of the majority of the people who are aware of it.
Still, I believe that the book could be used in many good ways, particularly in promoting critical thinking. The dissonance my friend and I felt after reading it was likely caused by adherence to a particular code which, when confronted with numerous challenges presented in the example situations, was not able to provide non-controversial answers. I think the actual message that Michael Sandal wanted to send to us is that no system can answer all the questions all the time. Instead, to figure out the right way in any conflicting situation, one should use the model that suits it the most. There are several of them – from the utilitarian model of Jeremy Bentham to the libertarian model of Kant and the virtuous model of Aristotle.
The author uses very powerful scenes that could affect even the staunchest believers in a particular doctrine. The story about the four men trapped in the boat filled me both with pity and with disgust at the same time (Sandel 22). Such examples would help them see that the world is not entirely black and white – that there are many shades of gray. It is useful to cultivate a certain degree of self-doubt in person, as it generates acceptance to other peoples’ viewpoints and ideas. A person without self-doubt usually turns into an inflexible conservator at best and an extremist at worst. The view of this book depends on what a reader is expecting to receive from it. Most want answers to questions they have. This book is different, as it offers answers that raise even more questions.
Works Cited
Sandel, Michael. Justice. What’s the Right thing to Do? New York: Farrah, Straus and Giroux, 2009.