2014 Theses Doctoral

The Unity of Political Principle

MacInnis, Luke

The aim of this project is to argue that practical reason governs our normative responsibilities in one voice. There are no genuine conflicts within law, none within morality, and none between law and morality. On the contrary, there are single right answers to questions about what law and morality, considered separately or together, demand. I try to show that this claim, which I refer to as the "Unity Thesis", is both ordinary and deeply valuable. It concerns the correct way to understand, judge, and reason about the normative principles our political, legal, and moral practices establish. The Unity Thesis holds that we ought to, and that we already tacitly do, regard these principles as constituting an integrated, mutually supportive practical system--a unity of principle.