(Return to main path)

I'm going to throw something out here for you to think about. I agree that science can help, but it cannot always answer the question "Which factors are relevant" when deciding whether cases are equal or unequal.

I think what's needed here is a theory of rights. If we had a well developed theory of rights, then we would know what was relevant.

Suppose our theory of rights distinguishes the public sector from the private sector; and it attributes certain rights to private owners of businesses. If we were asking whether a private company acted justly when it fired someone or paid them a certain salary, the fact that the company is privately owned is decisive. The theory tells us that the owners do not act unjustly when they do certain things like hiring and firing or paying certain salaries. On the other hand, it might tells us that if a government agency discriminated in certain ways, it would be unjust.

Science cannot tell us that, but our theory of rights can.