By nature equal
Subtitle: the anatomy of a Western insight
By: John E. Coons and Patrick M. Brennan ; with a foreword by John Witte, Jr.
Contributors: Brennan, Patrick M., 1966-; Witte, John, 1959-
Series: New forum books
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 1999
Place of publication: Princeton, N.J
Language: eng
Number of pages: 362
Subjects: Equality -- Philosophy; Equality -- Religious aspects; Equality before the law
Description: What do we mean when we refer to people as being equal by nature? In the first book devoted to human equality as a fact rather than as a social goal or a legal claim, John Coons and Patrick Brennan argue that even if people possess unequal talents or are born into unequal circumstances, all may still be equal if it is true that human nature provides them the same access to moral self-perfection.

Plausibly, in the authors' view, such access stems from the power of individuals to achieve goodness simply by doing the best they can to discover and perform correct actions. If people enjoy the same degree of natural capacity to try, all of us are offered the same opportunities for moral self-fulfillment. To believe this is to believe in equality.

This truly interdisciplinary work not only proposes the authors' own rationale but also provides an effective deconstruction of several other contemporary theories of equality, while it engages historical, philosophical, and Christian accounts as well.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [261]-348) and index.