What We Owe to Each Other
What We Owe to Each Other (1998) by T.M. Scanlon develops contractualism: an act is wrong if it would be forbidden by principles no one could reasonably reject.
Core Idea
Morality (in the domain of what we owe each other) is about justifiability to others. Scanlon’s test asks us to model each person’s reasons and weigh them seriously — a wrong action is one whose justifying principle someone could reasonably reject, given their standpoint.
Why It Matters for Critical Thinking
Demands genuine perspective-taking: you must represent others’ reasons with the same weight as your own, a discipline directly opposed to the self-serving asymmetries that distort everyday judgment.