A contemporary philosopher‚ John Rawls (1921-2002)‚ is noted for his contributions to political and moral philosophy. In particular‚ Rawls ’ discussion about justice introduced five important concepts into discourse‚ including: the two principles of justice‚ the “original position” and “veil of ignorance‚” reflective equilibrium‚ overlapping consensus‚ and public reason. What is interesting about these five contributions is how Rawls’ speculative thought has been used by scholars across disciplinary
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In a broad sense‚ both Rawls and Nozick agree that the legitimacy of a just society is highly dependent on the emphasis of liberty for its citizens. For Rawls‚ it is the first principal of justice‚ and though he presupposes equal liberty as a basic right for each person‚ he makes a point to prioritize its importance. Rawls outlines some basic liberties‚ including political liberties‚ equal treatment under the law‚ and the freedom to hold personal property (Rawls‚ 677). Nozick agrees with this emphasis
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Rawls Theory of Justice A contemporary philosopher‚ John Rawls (1921-2002)‚ is noted for his contributions to political and moral philosophy. In particular‚ Rawls ’ discussion about justice introduced five important concepts into discourse‚ including: the two principles of justice‚ the “original position” and “veil of ignorance”. Rawls most famous work is‚ A Theory of Justice (1971) gives an introduction to this body of thought and he emphasises the importance justice has on governing and organising
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political theory over the past 50 years‚ and John Rawls’ A Theory of Justice (1971) is widely seen as the most important attempt during that period to articulate a set of institutions and distributional outcomes that rational individuals would see as legitimate. Rawls’ seminal work has spawned a veritable critical industry since its publication (Miller‚ 1999). His elaboration of his project and restatement of his theory of “justice as fairness” (Rawls‚ 2001) promise to sustain interest in his ideas
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The conventional accounts of Justice normally begin by stating a fundamental rule of Aristotle – Justice is to treat equals equally and unequals unequally‚ and that unequal treatment should be in proportion to the inequality. In everyday life though‚ justice is seen as an attribute of law‚ while all laws are not necessarily just. Many great socio- political movements of the world have focused from time to time on unjust laws eg Apartheid laws in South Africa and Caste laws in India. Impartiality
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This chapter is about a prince named Abdul Rahman from the tribe called FulBe. The FulBe people were cattle herders and most of them were Muslims. In their tribe‚ there was a prophet named Karamoko Alfa‚ who was their religious leader and called for a religious war called Jihaad on the tribe of Jalunke. The leader of the tribe was named Ibrahima Sori‚ who was the father of Abdul Rahman and the king of the tribe. He was known for his boldness and courage which led him to become popular amongst the
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Rawls’ View of Ignorance Rawls theory of justice revolves around the adaptation of two fundamental principles of justice which would‚ in turn‚ guarantee a just and morally acceptable society. The first principle guarantees the right of each person to have the most extensive basic liberty compatible with the liberty of others. The second principle states that social and economic positions are to be a) to everyone’s advantage and b) open to all. A key problem to Rawls is to show how such principles
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Chapter I RAWLS THEORY OF JUSTICE 1.1) Introduction John Rawls‚ a modern and one of the most influential philosophers‚ who held the James Bryant Conant University Professorship at Harvard University and Fulbright Fellowship at Christ Church‚ Oxford‚ published several books and many articles. He wrote a series of highly influential articles in the 1950s and ’60s that helped refocus on morals and political philosophy on substantive problems. He is widely regarded as one of the most important political
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I agree with John Rawls that creating a hypothetical contract behind a “veil of ignorance” is the ideal way of viewing justice. First‚ Rawls argues that this method creates “principles of justice untainted by differences of bargaining power or knowledge” (203). To clarify why I also believe this is the correct position to take‚ I will define what Rawls means by a “veil of ignorance.” He explains this term saying‚ “[Parties] do not know how the various alternatives will affect their own particular
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the naturalist theory of justice advocated by Binmore should be conceived of as belonging to one family of such doctrines‚ but not as overriding a political conception of justice. A political conception of justice‚ as famously put forward by John Rawls‚ rests on fundamental democratic values. The premise is that an irreducible pluralism of views about what justice requires and about what constitutes the relationship between individuals and the society they live in renders it impossible to base justice
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