Non-ideal Theory: A Taxonomy with Illustration

© 2012 Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. This chapter discusses non-ideal theory of justice and its significance in bioethics, with special emphasis on distributive justice. The two major branches of this theory are an innovation of John Rawls. The divisions are: the partial compliance theory and the transitional theory. But a discourse into non-ideal theory shouldn't stop there, as one may extend the concepts of the theory beyond the two branches mentioned above. The chapter concludes with an illustrative example of their extension vis-à-vis Rawls' division.

Duke Scholars

Author Gopal Sreenivasan Philosophy