Van der Burg, W., Van Willigenburg, T. (eds): Reflective equilibrium. Essays in honour of Robert...

Van der Burg, W., Van Willigenburg, T. eds): Reflective equilibrium. Essays in honour of Robert Heeger Dordrecht, Boston, London: Kluwer Academic Publishers Group 1998. VII, 298 pp, with figures. ISBN 0±792±35066±9) £94.50 Susanne Hahn The idea of re¯ective equilibrium was introduced as a method of justi®cation. In A Theory of Justice John Rawls proposes justifying the principles of justice by showing that they are in a state of re¯ective equilibrium: after several mutual adjustments the principles match ``our'' considered judgements concerning matters of justice. Being in a state of equilibrium, the judgements and the principles are justi®ed. The idea was discussed as a coherentist approach to justi®- cation in both practical and theoretical philosophy. More recently, it has also been adopted in ``applied ethics''. The re¯ective equilibrium approach should serve as a tool to guide morally relevant decisions. These essays in honour of Robert Heeger may serve as an example of this tendency. The book is a collection of essays, mostly written by former students of Robert Heeger, Professor of Ethics in the Faculties of Theology and Philosophy at Utrecht University. In remarkable contrast to other ``Festschriften'' ,the editors have avoided producing an eclectic collection of papers. Instead, they invited contributions from only those who wanted to discuss speci®c aspects of the method of re¯ective equilibrium. Apart from these topical limits, they have structured the book with regard to different issues of re¯ective equilibrium. It is divided into ®ve sections. The ®rst deals with the elements of re¯ective equilibrium, the second with its methodology and the third with the scope of re¯ective equilibrium. The fourth section discusses the modelling of public debate, as one purpose of a re¯ective equilibrium, whereas the last section presents case studies in bioethics. Finally, one should mention the rather detailed introduction, presenting the idea of re¯ective equilibrium and some of the main lines of discussion. In the ®rst section, ``The Elements of Re¯ective Equilibrium'', each of the authors treats one element of re¯ective equilibrium, the well-known considered judgements, principles, and the background theories. Furthermore, two essays introduce new components that the authors want to be considered in re¯ective equilibrium: morally relevant facts and ideals, the latter in order to avoid the methodological conservatism that is often put forward against the equilibrium approach. Four essays constitute the section entitled ``The Methodology of Re¯ective Equilibrium''. In accordance with Michael DePaul's proposal in Balance and Re®nement. Beyond Coherence Methods of Moral Inquiry, [see my review in Erkenntnis 42 1995), 413±417], some of the contributions stress the necessity of a S. Hahn Gerhard-Mercator-Universita Èt-Duisburg, Fachbereich 1, Fach Philosophie, Lotharstr. 65, 47048 Duisburg, Germany Book review Poiesis Prax 2001) 1:85±88 Ó Springer-Verlag 2001 85

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Transcript of Van der Burg, W., Van Willigenburg, T. (eds): Reflective equilibrium. Essays in honour of Robert...

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