ABSTRACT
Most people, including moral philosophers, are convinced that a person should be able and willing to justify his or her judgments, decisions and actions, especially when they affect others. We want to be able to count on the rationality, reliability, and integrity of those we are dealing with, and we ourselves prefer to be known as rational, responsible, and reliable. Unwillingness to justify one’s actions is seen as disrespect for one’s fellows. Essentially, then, justification is a social, public enterprise. It presupposes an audience, a public, even when it takes place in foro interno. Justification is also public in that it draws from the shared resources of a particular community.
