Über Ungerechtigkeit. Erkundungen zu einem moralischen Gefühl

by Judith N. Shklar, Hannes Bajohr (Editor), Christiana Goldmann (Translator)

Was ist Ungerechtigkeit, was Unglück? Die Philosophin Judith Shklar widmet sich in ihrer bahnbrechenden Untersuchung einem unterschätzten politischen Problem.

»Die Unterscheidung zwischen Unglück und Ungerechtigkeit hat oft mit unserer Bereitschaft und unserer Fähigkeit zu tun, im Namen der Opfer zu handeln, anzuklagen oder freizusprechen, zu helfen, wiedergutzumachen – oder uns einfach abzuwenden.«

Judith Shklar zeigt, dass die Unterscheidung von Unglück und Ungerechtigkeit wandelbar ist: Was vor hundert Jahren noch ein Unglück war, etwa eine Hungersnot, ist heute eine Ungerechtigkeit, weil es Mittel gibt, sie zu verhindern. Statt ideale Theorien zu konstruieren, fordert Shklar uns auf, auf die Stimmen der Opfer zu hören. In ihnen artikuliert sich ein Sinn für Ungerechtigkeit, der in den positiven Theorien der Gerechtigkeit keine Berücksichtigung findet. Die Philosophie hat viel zu selten über Ungerechtigkeit nachgedacht und sie, wenn überhaupt, nur im Rückspiegel ihrer Gerechtigkeitstheorien betrachtet. Shklars Erkundungen zu einem moralischen Gefühl ändern das und zeigen, wie folgenreich der Sinn für Ungerechtigkeit für die Gestaltung eines liberalen Staats und das Leben seiner Bürgerinnen und Bürger ist.

228 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Judith Shklar was born as Judita Nisse in Riga, Latvia to Jewish parents. Because of persecution during World War II, her family fled Europe over Japan to the US and finally to Canada in 1941, when she was thirteen. She began her studies at McGill University at the age of 16, receiving bachelor of art and master of art degrees in 1949 and 1950, respectively. She later recalled that the entrance rules to McGill at the time required 750 points for Jews and 600 for everyone else. She received her PhD degree from Harvard University in 1955. Her mentor was the famous political theorist Carl Joachim Friedrich, who, she later recalled, only ever offered her one compliment: "Well, this isn't the usual thesis, but then I did not expect it to be." Eventually she became his successor.

Shklar joined the Harvard faculty in 1956, becoming the first woman to receive tenure in Harvard's Government Department in 1971. During her first year in the job, the Department permitted her to stay at home with her first child while writing her first book. When it came time for her tenure decision, the Department dithered, so Shklar proposed a half-time appointment with effective tenure and the title of lecturer, partly because she had three children by then. In 1980, she was appointed to be the John Cowles Professor of Government. Her friend and colleague Stanley Hoffmann once remarked, “she was by far the biggest star of the department.” Hoffmann also called her "the most devastatingly intelligent person I ever knew here."

During her career, Shklar served in various academic and professional capacities. For example, she was active in the committee that integrated the American Repertory Theater into the Harvard community.

Throughout her life, Judith Shklar was known as "Dita." She and her husband, Gerald Shklar, had three children, David, Michael, and Ruth

Reviews

[arius ;]

2.5 bis 3 von 5 sternen

besseres review kommt bald. allgemein kann ich sagen, dass der inhalt dieses buches nur an der oberfläche dieser ganzen themen kratzt.

[Annika]

meh