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Fairness

Fairness is a term that is commonly employed. In respect of its everyday usage, it is commonly interpreted as meaning justice, the absence of bias, and being equitable or impartial in accordance with certain rules. As such, whenever claims of unfairness are considered, seemingly familiar and accepted principles are employed in determining the merits of the claim.

On reflection, whenever the notion of fairness is employed, many questions remain unanswered, not least the question of whether the notion of fairness can be an objective assessment. Its nature is also problematic. Whether justice, a lack of bias, and an equitable or impartial process or outcome are determinants that can be substituted for fairness or whether fairness is something more or less than any one of them is uncertain. The term justice is especially problematic: Some authors interchange the terms fairness and justice haphazardly, whereas others postulate fairness as being fundamental to justice, thereby suggesting that it is some form of subset.

The underlying basis for claiming fairness is also uncertain. The term carries moral overtones; it conveys something that is generally regarded as moral and ethical, and yet the foundations for whatever fairness is and what it conveys are unclear.

A decision or action may also be considered to be fair if it is in accordance with the relevant rules or standards or in accordance with a person's rights. But when viewed from another moral perspective, a decision or action may be fair only if it maximizes the well-being of individuals in society.

The complexity of fairness is revealed in the literature pertaining to moral philosophy; it is here that we appreciate fairness as a notion that lacks clarity or consistency in terms not only of its being identified as a moral concept but also its relevancy.

Fairness as a Moral Concept

The notion of fairness as a moral concept is often justified by reference to social norms that guide ordinary individuals in their everyday lives; it is also argued that notions of fairness are self-evident, in accord with instinct and intuition, and that there is no need for an explicit justification of what is fair. These arguments are appealing because notions of fairness such as keeping promises, holding wrongdoers accountable for their actions, and promoting well-being correspond to internalized, meaning-inculcated, and inborn social norms. But these arguments do not provide a satisfactory answer, and, given the extent to which fairness is employed, there is surely a need to further elaborate its moral basis.

That the notion of fairness is employed extensively can be evidenced by our understanding of a “fair game.” Whether in the context of recreational games, house rules, professional codes, or laws, fairness is invariably intended in creating the so-called rules of the game. Thus, laws governing discrimination are intended to ensure fairness in the way people are treated, irrespective of, for example, their sex, race, age, or family status. That we create such rules suggests that we perceive a need to reinforce fairness as an internalized social norm or that we need to establish what is fair in a particular circumstance because otherwise there may be conflicting claims as to what is a fair game.

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