Tullius est [et Tullius non est Cicero]: semantic distortion

Unlike my ancient predecessor, this Tullius hasn't had his hands chopped off. With hands attached I offer my thoughts on philosophy, religion, politics, and whatever else I find worth mentioning. I'm conservative religiously and politically (with libertarian leanings). I value reason and freedom but also traditions and "Oldthink." I relish being on the wrong side of history when history is wrong--part of a philosopher's job is to be unpopular. (Views given here may not represent my employers')

Showing posts with label semantic distortion. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Why I Don't Use the Term "Social Justice"

[We have a new major on campus: social justice. Here's a post from a couple years ago.]

Why would anyone be opposed to social justice? Who doesn't want to live in a just society? I certainly do. It's not that I oppose social justice--or justice for that matter--it's that (a) it's not clear to me what "social justice" means and (b) I'm leery of adopting a phrase which now is significantly owned by the left.

To understand social justice we must first have a handle on justice simpliciter. So what is justice?