William Phillips' Presentation Outline: Fairness&Equality

Fairness&Equality

By William Phillips

May 2013

Article I.           Definitions

Section 1.01 Fairness

(a)     Merriam-Webster -   “marked by impartiality and honesty : free from self-interest, prejudice, or favoritism.”

(b)    Dictionary.com – “the state, condition, or quality of being fair, or free from bias or injustice; evenhandedness.”

(c)     Encyclopedia Britannica - “marked by impartiality and honesty : free from self-interest, prejudice, or favoritism.”

(d)    Wikipedia – “absence of bias”

(e)   Legal – “Justice is a concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, equity or fairness, as well as the administration of the law, taking into account the inalienable and inborn rights of all human beings and citizens, the right of all people and individuals to equal protection before the law of their civil rights, without discrimination on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, color, ethnicity, religion, disability, age, or other characteristics, and is further regarded as being inclusive of social justice.”

(f)      Philosophical – “Plato contended that justice is the quality of soul, in virtue of which men set aside the irrational desire to taste every pleasure and to get a selfish satisfaction out of every object and accommodated themselves to the discharge of a single function for the general benefit.”

 

Article II.        Equality

(a)     Merriam-Webster -   “the quality or state of being equal.”

(b)    Dictionary.com – “the state or quality of being equal; correspondence in quantity, degree, value, rank, or ability.”

(c)     Encyclopedia Britannica – “Generally, an ideal of uniformity in treatment or status by those in a position to affect either.”

(d)    Wikipedia – “Equal opportunity is a stipulation that all people should be treated similarly, unhampered by artificial barriers or prejudices or preferences, except when particular distinctions can be explicitly justified.”

(e)     Legal – “equity is the set of legal principles that supplement strict rules of law where their application would operate harshly.”

(f)      Philosophical – "Democracy comes about when the poor are victorious, killing some of their opponents and expelling others, and giving the rest an equal share in ruling under the constitution, and for the most part assigning people to positions of rule by lot." (Rep., 557a-b)

Article III.    Key Ontological Features

Section 3.01 Fairness

(a)     Objectivity

(b)    Justice

(c)     Universal; Utilitarian; Disinterested

Section 3.02 Equality

(a)     Uniformity

(b)    Non-prejudice

(c)     Individual

 

Article IV.     Implications of Policy-Based Adoption

Section 4.01 Fairness

(a)     Fairness is an observable phenomenon.

(b)    Fairness does not reward or punish.

(c)     Fairness absorbs all judgment.

(d)    Fairness is a natural phenomenon.

(e)     Fairness requires no input.

Section 4.02 Equality

(a)     Equality is man-made.

(b)    Equality rewards everyone without cause, and punishes everyone without cause.

(c)     Equality requires input.

(d)    Equality is institutional.

(e)     Equality is judgmental.