Justice Through Diversity?

A Philosophical and Theological Debate

Edited by Michael J. Sweeney

Publication date:

30 August 2016

Length of book:

696 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9781442271166

Arguably the most transformative force in contemporary society is the commitment to justice through diversity. A prime example is the change justice through diversity has wrought on who enters, teaches and administers the university. It has changed the content of what is taught and the mission statements that define the purpose of higher education. What is rarely defined, however, is justice and how it is related to diversity. If justice is equality, are all differences equal? Are all differences in race, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, ethnicity, religion and culture equal? Should such differences be weighted differently and thus hierarchically? On what basis are those differences to be weighted and ranked to ensure equality? Justice Through Diversity brings together a Who’s Who of contemporary scholars to explore these questions and others in an attempt to understand one of the central commitments in the modern world.

INTRODUCTION: Michael Sweeney, Xavier University

JUSTICE AND DIVERSITY FROM DIVERSE PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES

Peter Simpson, CUNY (Virtue Ethics): Justice and Diversity in Virtue Ethics
Thomas Hibbs, Baylor (Natural Law): Thomas Aquinas on Justice and the Diversity of Goods
Aaron Szymkowiak, Xavier University (Deontology): On Deontology: Is Diversity for Real?
Raymond Hain, Providence (Utilitarianism): Utilitarianism on Justice (and Diversity)
James Campbell, University of Toledo (American): Systems of Justice and the Role of the Moral Prophet
Paul Weithman, University of Notre Dame (Analytical): Justice through Diversity from an Analytical Perspective
Fred Evans, Duquesne (Postmodern): The Dilemma of Diversity: Rawls, Derrida, and Political Justice

PARTICULAR ISSUES IN JUSTICE AND DIVERSITY: PHILOSOPHY

Remi Brague, University of Paris: Diversity: How far?
Camille Paglia, University of the Arts: Intolerance and Diversity in Three Cities: Ancient Babylon, Renaissance Venice, and Nineteenth-Century Philadelphia
Gayatri Spivak, Columbia: Essentializing the Classed Other
Jorge Garcia, Boston College: Racist Disrespect in Moral Theory: Dialogue with Glasgow
Laura Garcia, Boston College: A Feminist Defense of the Complementarity Between Men and Women
Robert George, Princeton: Immigration and American Exceptionalism
John Corvino, Wayne State: What Marriage Can Be
Sherif Girgis, Princeton: Marriage: Whose Justice? Which Diversity?

JUSTICE AND DIVERSITY FROM DIVERSE THEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES

Peter Huff, University of Mary (Catholic): Dignum et Iustum: Justice, Diversity, and the Mystery of Catholicity
Pavel Gavrilyuk, University of St. Thomas (Eastern Orthodox): Diversity in Eastern Christianity: Historical Traumas and Cultural Dislocations
Stephen Long, Marquette (Protestant): Justice and Diversity: A Homogenous Protestant Project
David Novak, University of Toronto (Jewish): Justice, Diversity, and Tolerance in the Jewish Tradition
Waleed El-Ansary, Xavier University, and Muhammed Zia ul-Haq, University of Islamabad (Muslim): Unity and Religious Diversity in Islamic Theology, Shariah Law and Tradition

PARTICULAR ISSUES IN JUSTICE AND DIVERSITY: THEOLOGY

Virgilio Elizondo, Notre Dame: From Benevolent Tolerance to Humble Reverence: A Vision for a Multicultural Church
Shawn Copeland, Boston College: The Common Good, Freedom, and Difference
Russell Hittinger, University of Tulsa: Ordered Justice and the Diversity of Rights and Nations in Pacem in terries
Susannah Heschel, Dartmouth: Was National Socialism Political Religion? The Transformation of Christianity into a Nazi Religion during the Third Reich
Thomas Guarino, Seton Hall University: Vattimo, Diversity and Catholicism
Kwame Anthony Appiah, Princeton: Respecting Gay People: Justice and the Interpretation of Scriptural Traditions
Mary Healy, Sacred Heart Seminary: Homosexuality and the Word of God
Mark Jordon, Harvard: How (Not) To Debate Christian Sexual Ethics

John Grabowski, Catholic University of America: Not Just Love: The Anthropological Assumptions Of Catholic Teaching on Same-Sex Attraction and Activity

This collection responds to the current emphasis on diversity in colleges and universities, in which diversity is often equated with justice. The essays argue that institutions have neither adequately defined justice and diversity nor clearly examined the relationship between the two notions. The contributors look at this issue from both philosophical and theological perspectives (the latter limited to the Abrahamic religions), noting that historically both the concepts and their relationship are contested. One articulated concern is that to proceed with policies based on increasing diversity, institutions must have a clearer understanding of diversity and justice in order to develop effective programs. Another concern is that though higher education supports an open exchange of ideas, there has been a failure to provide open debate on issues of diversity. In addition to essays on theory, the collection includes essays that address specific issues—e.g., gender, nationality, sexual orientation, class, and religion. Critical to the discussion is whether all diversities are equal. Should they all be treated in the same way, or should special allowances be made to offset disadvantages associated with particular diversities. What is just?

Summing Up: Recommended. All readers.