Conceptions of Justice

Historically the concept of justice has been discussed widely and different conceptions of justice have been considered in the attempt to define when an act, a person, or a situation is just, as well as when a society, an institution, a law or penalty is just. In the contemporary debate, however, in general the discussions are compartmentalized such that political theory considers distributive justice, legal theory considers retributive, restorative and compensatory justice, while moral considerations on justice are for the most part considered within political or legal frameworks and mostly for the purpose of defining just states, institutions or laws rather than the just man. These specialised discussions run the danger of losing their roots in the common idea of justice.

The aim of this workshop is to offer a frame for the discussion of the broader idea of justice, if indeed any such idea is coherent, and to discuss the concept of justice as a moral concept as well as a political and legal notion. This workshop is of interest for academics who works within normative philosophy, political science and law and who have an interest in justice and the concept of justice. (For PhD. students: Course requirements: to get 3 ECTS you must: attend all three days, present a paper (6000 words), and read the papers presented at the workshop). 

Provisional Program:

Tuesday 26th June

12.50 – 13.00: Welcome

13.00 – 14.30:  Kasper Lippert-Rasmussen (University of Aarhus): 'Welfarism, Snobbery, and the Metric of Justice'

14.45 – 15.45:  Miroslav Imbrisevic (University of London): 'The Role of Principles of Justice in the Justification of Punishment: Hart and Nino'

15.45 – 16.15:  Coffee and tea

16.15 – 17.15:  Nick Sage (University of Toronto): 'Justice, Freedom, and Action – actual and potential '

17.30 – 18.30:  Morten Dige (University of Aarhus): TBA

19.00 - ?         Dinner

Wednesday 27th. June:

8.00 - 9-00:    Breakfast

9.00 – 10.30:  Nils Holtug (University of Copenhagen): 'In Defence of Prioritarianism'

10.45 – 11.45: Juliana Bidaddanure (University of York): 'Intergenerational justice: what inequalities between generations are unjust?'

12.00 – 13.00: Lunch

13.00 – 14.30: Andrew Williams (ICREA-Pompeu Fabra University): 'Justice and Verbal Disputes'

14.45 – 15.45:  Søren Engelsen (University of Southern Denmark): 'Justice and Practical Reason'

15.45 – 16.15:  Coffee and tea

16.15 – 17.15:  Martin Marchman Andersen (University of Copenhagen): 'All this Talk about Personal Responsibility and Health'

17.30 – 18.30:  Raffaele Rodogno (University of Aarhus) & Katrine Krause-Jensen (University of Aarhus):'Conceptions of Justice - Thin and Thick'

19.00 - ?         Dinner

Thursday 28th June

8.00 - 9.00:     Breakfast

9.00 – 10.00:   Christian Gade (University of Aarhus): ’Legitimizing Restorative Justice in Post-Apartheid South Africa: Reflections on Ubuntu and the Creative use of History’

10.15 – 11.45:  Hans Fink (University of Aarhus): TBA

12.00 – 13.00:   Lunch

Registration: There are still a few places left. To register send an email to [email protected] as soon as possible.

Registration fee: 2000 DKKR for ordinary staff and 1000 DKKR. For PhD. Students (special deals can be made if you do not wish to participate in the full workshop). This fee is a contribution to cover hotel and full board (excl. wine). Participants who only wish to join single papers are welcome to do this free of charge.

Queries: Katrine Krause-Jensen ([email protected])