Desert thesis

Philosophers have made use of the concept of desert in several contexts. In discussions of the nature of justice, several philosophers have advocated versions of the idea that justice obtains when goods and evils are distributed according to desert.

In moral and political discussions, cases under scrutiny tend to be ones in which deservers are either individual people or groups of people. This should not blind us to the fact that non-persons can also be deservers. Desert claims also typically involve a desert.

As Feinberg indicated, familiar deserts include such things as grades, wages, prizes, respect, honors and awards, rights, love, benefits and other such things. Leibniz and Kant would surely insist that we include happiness among the possible deserts; and others would insist that we should mention welfare.

This is the thing that the deserver is said to deserve. As Feinberg indicated, familiar deserts include such things as grades, wages, prizes, respect, honors and awards, rights, love, benefits and other such things.