Abstract

VACA, Moisés. The Contractualist Dilemma. Ideas y Valores [online]. 2017, vol.66, n.165, pp.191-216. ISSN 0120-0062.  https://doi.org/10.15446/ideasyvalores.v66n165.59241.

It is common practice in contemporary ethics and political philosophy to appeal to some sort of hypothetical consensus to justify normative contents. In this article, I call that position "contractualism" and argue for three thesis in that respect. First, the common objection to contractualism is correct, namely, that stipulating a hypothetical consensus in an ideal situation of deliberation adds nothing to the justification of the normative content at stake. Secondly, this objection gives rise to what I have called "the contractualist dilemma": in a situation of disagreement between two agents over whether a normative content x is correct, resorting to a hypothetical agreement in ideal deliberation conditions as a means to justify x amounts to falling into petitio principii or to establishing a triviality. Third, in view of "the contractualist dilemma", contractualism should not be understood as a method of normative justification.

Keywords : contractualism; constructivism; ethics; normative justification; politics.

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