Equality And Inequality: Justice And Law

What is equality? What is meant by fairness? Are fairness and equality the same? Many of us are familiar with the Declaration of Independence’s bold claim, “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,” but is this rhetoric or reality? Through ancient and modern writings on philosophy and politics, we will delve deeper into the foundations of inequality, and then look at the natural, social, political, and economic ramifications in the America’s founding documents, and the writings of Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, and Susan B. Anthony. Building on these conversations, we will discover interdisciplinary connections that lead us into Archimedes’ laboratory to explore his concepts of balance and counterbalance.