ABSTRACT
To treat people equally is to treat them in the same way. To treat people in the same way is to treat them according to a rule. “Equally” is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary to mean “According to one and the same rule.” Philosophers, aware of this relationship, have attempted to explicate and refine the notion of equality through the notion of general rule or generalization. Historically, the salient names in this connection are Rousseau and Kant. Many contemporary philosophers have concerned themselves with generalization, but few have applied their conclusions to “equality.” The purpose of the present chapter is to analyze the concept of equality in the light of recent discussions of generalization. I will argue that the concept of equality can be explicated in terms of generalization, and that to do so shows that as normative concepts both equality and generalization are of derivative significance. These conclusions will lead to suggestions concerning the importance of utilitarian considerations in morals.
