Volume 30, Number 1
March 2025
DISCUSSION

Leaving Principle Contractualism Behind? A Response to Salomon

Volume 30, Number 1, March 2025, Pages 146–154
https://doi.org/10.26556/jesp.v30i1.4097
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Abstract

Traditionally, T. M. Scanlon’s moral contractualism has been understood in terms of principle contractualism. In an earlier volume of this journal, however, Aaron Salomon argued that contractualists should shift their theory’s evaluative focal point away from principles in order to respond to the ideal world objection. After rejecting act contractualism as an alternative way of doing so, he suggested that contractualists should instead adopt a view he refers to as maxim contractualism. While I agree with Salomon that his suggestion comes with important advantages, I argue in this discussion note that maxim contractualism cannot fully solve the problem that Salomon has raised against act contractualism. As a result, I conclude that contractualists should not be too quick in leaving principle contractualism behind.
Copyright © 2025 Valentin Salein
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license.
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