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John rawls theory of justice essay
Rawls on the topics of fairness
John rawls theory of justice essay
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Question 1: John Rawls
John Rawls was an American political and ethical philosopher. Rawls was born in Baltimore February 21st, 1921 and passed in 2002 at 81 years old. One of his best works was A Theory of Justice. In which he describes the problems with the distribution of justice, and how the only way we con truly distribute justice evenly is by a social contract.
John Rawls is a contractarian. He wants to further the interest of individuals. However, the only way to do that is a social contract. The individual must give-up something, for a society, to further everyone’s needs within that society. This is known as the social contract. To further explain, a social contract is not actually something that you can see or hold. It is something
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If people don’t know anything about themselves then they cannot be biased towards a situation. All people are biased to the different things that happen in their lives—so how can all people agree to a social contract? The Veil of ignorance is fabricated and can never exist. The Veil of Ignorance has two principles “Scheme of Equal Liberties” and “The Difference Principle.” The first principle says to give one person as much liberties (basic rights) as possible as long as others have the same freedom/rights. An individual must have as many freedoms as they can possibly get, and others will have the exact same amount. They are free to do anything they want as long as they don’t get into the way of another’s freedoms/liberties—and that is what Rawls calls …show more content…
A teacher takes the students outside and tells them to get into a line to race. Imagen that there are students off all races, wealth, etc. And the teacher will say a couple of statements. If what she said applies to you then you take two steps forward, if it doesn’t you take one step back. The first thing the teacher says is “take two steps forward if you have never wondered where your next meal was coming from.” The next was “take two steps forward if you’ve had a cellphone growing up.” And the last was “take two steps forward if you have two-parent household.” All those who took six steps forward had a better opportunity to win the race. The ones who were left behind, had to work that much harder to win the race. They still had the opportunity to be in the race and win, but they are behind the others who grew up with more resources. Is it still fair? They have the same opportunities? However, they don’t have the same resources to start at the same line as
freedom as long as one does not disturb others in their state of nature; in this
ABSTRACT. Adapting the traditional social contract approach of earlier years to a more contemporary use, John Rawls initiated an unparaleled revitalization of social philosophy. Instead of arguing for the justification of civil authority or the form that it should take, Professor Rawls is more interested in the principles that actuate basic social institutions —he presupposes authority and instead focuses on its animation. In short, Rawls argues that “justice as fairness” should be that basic animating principle.
According to John Locke everyone has natural rights. John Locke came up with natural rights, by thinking about what they could be for a long and vigorous time. Locke said that natural rights are “life, health, liberty, and possessions” (9). Life is something that no one can take away from anyone. Locke said, “no ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possession” (9). Life is not an absolute right. An example of this is if there was a train full of ten thousand people about to hit a rock, and you are by the switch that could save the ten thousand people, but if you use the switch you are killing a twelve-year-old girl on the other track. Liberty is doing what ever someone wants to do, and they can’t be punished for
In the Theory of Justice by John Rawls, he defines civil disobedience,” I shall begin by defining civil disobedience as a public, nonviolent, conscientious yet political act contrary to law usually done with the aim of bringing about a change in the law or policies of the government”.
Freedom is open to anyone who will fight for its existence, even if that fight is only to say that they yearn for it. On the most part, we see freedom as free. If we want to go out at 3:00 a.m. for ice cream and shotgun shells, we are "free" to do just that. We, as American citizens, are accustomed to many freedoms that we sometimes take for granted, such as the freedom to speak out against anyone who is trying to infringe upon our civil liberties, the right to choose who will represent us to the rest of the world, and the freedom to make and change any rule set forth if it does not apply."
John Rawls most famous work, A Theory of Justice deals with a complex system of rules and principles. It introduces principles of justice to the world, principles which Rawls argues, are meant to create and strengthen equality while remove the inequality which exists within society. These principles are both meant as standalone laws and regulations but they can be joined as well. The main function of the first principle is to ensure the liberty of every individual while the second principle is meant to be the force for the removal of inequality through what Rawls calls distributive justice.
Freedom is the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. In America there is numerous of choices that someone may make on a daily basis. If someone were allowed to make their own choices and were being told what to do; then they would not be free. When someone is allowed to speak when they want to, and say what they want; such as their opinion or view of something. Being allowed to have a right to speak is one of the most important characteristics of being an American. Thinking and stating your opinion in any predicament it a strong part in being a citizen because people in the United States are known for being able to think in their own ways. Freedom can stretch too many things such as being able to do as they please, they are not forced into doing anything that someone may want. The citizens of the United States are not made to do anything that one may not want to do; like
John Rawls was more in agreement with the works of Locke and Rousseau; however, Rawls disagreed with the notion that the State of Nature was a historical situation as opposed to something hypothetical; Rawls instead believed an original position of equality which I agree with (917). Rawls believed humans to be free, rational, self-interested, and most importantly, equal.
The general concept of Rawls “original position” is that all social “Primary Good” should be distributed equally to individuals in a society, unless an unequal distribution favors those less fortunate. Rawls call “the situation of ignorance about your own place in society the “original position (242).” Rawls’ theory is in direct response to John Lock’s principles on social contract which states that people in a free society need to set rules on how to live with one another in peace. Rawls’ principles were designed to guards against injustices, which was inflicted upon society, with the help of John Stuart Mills Utilitarianism principle that individuals should act so as to maximize the greatest good for the greatest number. Mills principle justified Nazi Germany's mistreatment of the Jews and the United States' mistreatment of African- Americans. Rawls’ argues that a person’s good is that which is needed for the successful execution of a rational long-term goal of life given reasonably favorable circumstances. He described the definition of good as the satisfaction of rational desires and identifies goods as liberty, opportunity, income, wealth and self-respect.
According to Frederick Douglass, having freedom meant having control over one’s life without being dominated and controlled by others.
...ng can be taken from a man but one thing: The last of the human freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way…" (Pg.25, Frankl, 2006).
John Rawls’ A Theory of Justice presents an ideal society based on several simple principles. While the system Rawls suggests is well constructed, it is not without its flaws. I will now attempt to explain Rawls’ idea of Justice as Fairness and explain where the system fails. John Rawls presents a theoretical state of human nature, which he refers to as the original position. In this original position, everyone must come together to form a good society, one in which everyone is treated fairly.
Political philosopher John Rawls believed that in order for society to function properly, there needs to be a social contract, which defines ‘justice as fairness’. Rawls believed that the social contract be created from an original position in which everyone decides on the rules for society behind a veil of ignorance. In this essay, it will be argued that the veil of ignorance is an important feature of the original position. First, the essay will describe what the veil of ignorance is. Secondly, it will look at what Rawls means by the original position. Thirdly, it will look at why the veil of ignorance is an important feature of the original position. Finally, the essay will present a criticism to the veil of ignorance and the original position and Rawls’ potential response to this.
John Rawls’ A Theory of Justice holds that a rational, mutually disinterested individual in the Original Position and given the task of establishing societal rules to maximise their own happiness throughout life, is liable to choose as their principles of justice a) guaranteed fundamental liberties and b) the nullification of social and economic disparities by universal equality of opportunities, which are to be of greatest benefit to the least advantaged members of society , . Rawls’ system of societal creation has both strengths and weaknesses, but is ultimately sound.
If we start letting simple freedoms go, we could lose some major ones. Works Cited Huxley, Aldous. A. & Co. Brave New World. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2006.