Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ETHOS (Towards a European THeory Of juStice and fairness)

Teaser

ETHOS seeks to provide building blocks for the development of the an empirically informed European theory of justice by (a) refining and deepening the knowledge on the European foundations of justice - both historically based and contemporary envisaged; (b) enhancing the...

Summary

ETHOS seeks to provide building blocks for the development of the an empirically informed European theory of justice by (a) refining and deepening the knowledge on the European foundations of justice - both historically based and contemporary envisaged; (b) enhancing the awareness of the mechanism that impede the realization of the justice ideals that live in contemporary Europe; (c) advancing the understanding of the process of drawing and re-drawing of the boundaries of justice (fault lines); and (d) providing guidance to politicians, policy makers, advocacies and other stakeholders on how to design and implement policies to reserve inequalities and prevent injustice.

ETHOS will explore the normative underpinnings of justice and its practical realization in four heuristically defined domains of justice (social justice, economic justice, political justice, and civil and symbolic justice), as revealed in: (a) philosophical and political tradition, (b) legal framework, (c) daily (bureaucratic) practice, (d) current public debates, and (e) the accounts of the vulnerable populations in six European countries (the Netherlands, the UK, Hungary, Austria, Portugal and Turkey).

Work performed

The first year of the project has focused on the establishing the consortium management structures, Ethical requirements, launching the ETHOS website. 17 deliverables have been completed along with 4 meetings of the Executive Board and a highly successful kick off conference being held.
WP1
At the beginning of the project, the management responsibilities were distributed between the partners and the Coordinating Institution. Strong communication links have been established with all the consortium partners and the Advisory Boards. The management structure of the project has been set up and formalized through the Consortium Agreement.
Assurance of the scientific quality of all ETHOS outputs is of the utmost importance. A Quality Assurance Plan and a Data Management Plan have been adopted throughout the consortium.
WP2
Deliverable 2.1 submitted on time: A Report on European heritage of philosophical theorizing about justice has been delivered on time describing how normative questions of justice are distinctive and found that three main philosophical methods for approaching them can be identified.
Key findings
The European heritage of philosophical theorizing about justice has generally approached justice as either a global or a national domestic matter, and as primarily a matter of (re) distribution. We found that different philosophical ways of thinking about justice (for example in terms of recognition) are available, and that there are good prospects for a European theory of justice that puts the agency of citizens of a shared political system centre stage
WP3
Deliverable 3.1 submitted on time: A theoretical review of the conceptualization and articulation of justice in legal theory.
Key findings
Key concepts discussed are the relationship between natural law and legal positivism, the idea of universalism and cultural relativism in law and the position held by the notion of the rule of law and procedural justice. In the connection between law and justice, special attention is given to fundamental human rights as positivized natural law.
WP4
Deliverable 4.1 submitted with some delay (with permission). A Theoretical Review of the Conceptualization and Articulation of Justice in Political Theory presenting a discussion of the political questions which concern belonging and participation in society with particular attention to the issues pertaining to representation.
Key findings
This overview addresses the questions pertaining to just representation with an explicit attempt to avoid a compartmentalized view of different types of disadvantages faced by vulnerable groups. Theoretical problems that are debated around concepts such as “the common good”, “recognition of difference” or “intersectionality” call for inquiries into the proper institutional arrangements that address these problems.
WP5
Deliverable 5.1 submitted on time: Justice in social theory outlining the conceptualization and articulation of justice in social theory focusing on sociological and anthropological theories.
Key findings:
The deliverable describes how different challenges to abstract European moral reasoning have attempted to develop grounded theories of justice with a particular interest in theories that analyze structurally embedded forms of (in)justice and that engage with the perspectives of those who are marginalized.
WP6
Deliverable 6.1 submitted on time: Reviewing the conceptualization and articulation of justice in dominant (neoclassical) economic theory
Key findings:
The paper describes and critically analyzes the process through which economics separated from moral philosophy claim the status of a ‘science of choice’. Drawing on contemporary developments in economics aimed at (re)articulating justice and economic theory.
WP7: To be undertaken in years 2 and 3.
WP8: The tasks for the dissemination activities are in place and are active. These include ad Facebook page, currently with around 240 followers, with a slow

Final results

ETHOS aims at formulating a theory of justice through enhancing and deepening the knowledge on European foundations justice and fairness – both historically based and contemporarily envisaged – by substantiating and reassessing the concepts and frameworks of justice that have (historically) dominated the European normative and institutionalised space and comparing them with the actual (empirical) understanding of people\'s actual attitudes, opinions, beliefs and views on justice and fairness in five European countries and Turkey as well as with people’s multiple and contextualized ‘lived experiences’.
Knowledge thus gathered will be shared with the stakeholders (politicians, policy makers, advocacies/civil society organisations, media, citizens) at different stages of the project and beyond.
By building an effective communication platform (see WP8 above) between different stakeholders – scientific community, policy makers, civil society representatives and citizens, including groups that are socially marginalised, ETHOS will bolster a dialog and cooperation among them.
The scientific impact of ETHOS will be safeguarded by the multidisciplinary and cross-cultural team of scholars that form the consortium. The scientific rigour of the project will be bolstered by a multi-national Scientific Advisory Board composed of high profile scholars representing different scientific traditions – political theory, philosophy, law as well as sociology and anthropology who will provide guidance and advice and safeguard the direction of the research, its progress and its outcomes.

Website & more info

More info: https://ethos-europe.eu/.