Justice

By: Michael J. Sandel

Narrated by: Michael J. Sandel

Length: 5 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's Summary

What are our obligations to others as people in a free society? Should government tax the rich to help the poor? Is the free market fair? Is it sometimes wrong to tell the truth? Is killing sometimes morally required? Is it possible, or desirable, to legislate morality? Do individual rights and the common good conflict? These questions are at the core of our public life today - and at the heart of Justice, in which Michael J. Sandel shows how a surer grasp of philosophy can help us to make sense of politics, morality, and our own convictions as well.  

Sandel's legendary Justice course is one of the most popular and influential at Harvard. Up to a thousand students pack the campus theater to hear Sandel relate the big questions of political philosophy to the most vexing issues of the day.

In the fall of 2009, PBS will air a series based on the course. Justice offers listeners the same exhilarating journey that captivates Harvard students - the challenge of thinking our way through the hard moral challenges we confront as citizens. It is a searching, lyrical exploration of the meaning of justice, a book that invites listeners of all political persuasions to consider familiar controversies in fresh and illuminating ways. 

Affirmative action, same-sex marriage, physician-assisted suicide, abortion, national service, the moral limits of markets, patriotism and dissent - Sandel shows how even the most hotly contested issues can be illuminated by reasoned moral argument. Justice is lively, thought-provoking, and wise - an essential new addition to the small shelf of books that speak convincingly to the big questions of our civic life.

©2009 Michael J. Sandel (P)2009 Macmillan Audio

Critic Reviews

"This outstanding collection successfully blends historical and contemporary thought, on issues of theoretical and practical importance, to illuminate the main problems of justice. It is accessible to undergraduates in philosophy, with breadth and depth enough to engage the experienced philosophical reader hoping to rethink some central debates." (Michele Moody-Adams, Director and Hutchinson Professor of Ethics and Public Life, Cornell University)

Justice

Everyone wants justice for people. But what does that mean? In the context of affirmative action, is it “Justice” that someone be granted admission to college, or denied admission, when the present answer is based on an accident of birth, not choice? This discussion and many others are addressed by Michael Sandel.

An enlightened journey on moral philosophy

An enlightened journey on moral philosophy and a greatly informed and informative discussion of the political and ethical problems of our times.