Social Justice Philosophical Perspectives

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Civilisational history, in a way, has been man's unending quest for social justice, leading him to strive not only for equality, but also for the abolition of discriminations in every form. Social justice, however, has defied a precise definition. And, as a concept, has been viewed differently in different contexts — dependent, as it has been, on the contigencies of time, place and person. Here is a multi-author work trying to sharpen the readers' understanding of social justice against the backdrop of its diverse concepts across the ages.

An assemblage of 15 insightful essays, each written by a reputed scholar, the book looks afresh at the varying connotations of Social Justice, in all its essential perspectives: moral, legal, economic, political and historical. Attempting, thus, to visualise its concept, the authors consider social justice vis-a-vis democracy, gender questions, justice-making mechanisms, retribution, and even the Hindu doctrine of karma.

Of special interest to readers is the analysis, by some authors, of the "Indian experiments" of social justice in extending preferential treatment to members of the `exploited' classes and evaluate its impact on the Indian society in general and on the 'preferred' classes in particular. Volume 5 in the "Utkal Studies in Philosophy" series, this collection is an important contribution not just to the ever-continuing dialogue on social justice, but to "Analytical Philosophy of Values" as well. Social thinkers/activists, sociologists, social scientists, and, more specially, the scholars of philosophy will find it a useful acquisition.

P. K. Mohapatra, Editor of this volume, got his Ph.D from the University of Keele, England where he worked as a Common-wealth Scholar during 1974-77; and had been to the United States as a Fulbright Visiting Professor in 1989. A specialist in `Philosophy of Mind' and 'Philosophy of Values', he has authored two books, entitled Personal Identity and Concepts and Problems, edited five books and published a number of articles. He has been the President of the Metaphysics Section of the Indian Philosophy Congress in 1983, and also the General President of the All Orissa Philosophy Association in 1998. Currently, Dr. Mohapatra is the senior-most Professor of Philosophy at Utkal University, Bhubaneswar and the General Editor of UTKAL STUDIES IN PHILOSOPHY series.

**Contents and Sample Pages**