Arguing for Human Equality
There is nothing that I would hold to more dearly in our past than the language of the Declaration of Independence, ‘all men are created equal.’ As Abraham Lincoln argued, this is in an important sense the foundation of our Constitution. The circumstance that the social facts of our world, then and...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2002
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| In: |
Journal of law and religion
Year: 2002, Volume: 18, Issue: 1, Pages: 99-149 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | There is nothing that I would hold to more dearly in our past than the language of the Declaration of Independence, ‘all men are created equal.’ As Abraham Lincoln argued, this is in an important sense the foundation of our Constitution. The circumstance that the social facts of our world, then and now, are hideously inconsistent with this promise or ideal simply makes it all the more important. Yet upon what does this value of equality rest? Is it self-evident? Certainly not, and one may find oneself in deep trouble trying to rest it upon independent philosophical foundations. As a factual statement, it is obviously not true and cannot be true; as a matter of value no one thinks that we ought to equalize every aspect of life.So what can it mean?—James Boyd White, From Expectation to Experience |
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| ISSN: | 2163-3088 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of law and religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/1051496 |