John Rawls and the Original Position
JOHN RAWLS
AND
THE ORIGINAL POSITION
Name: Akshay Shetty
Class: TYBA
Roll No: 321
Subject: Political Thinkers
Course Code: 5.02
Title: John Rawls and the Original Position
INDEX
No.
Topic
Page No.
1.
Introduction
3
2.
John Rawls: A Life Sketch
4
3.
The Original Position
6
4.
The Original Position and the Social Contract
7
5.
Nature of the Original Position
9
6.
The veil of ignorance
11
7.
Rationality in the original position
13
8.
The maximin principle
15
9.
The original position and utilitarianism
17
10.
Criticism of the original position
19
11.
Conclusion
21
12.
References
22
13.
Bibliography
23
INTRODUCTION
John Rawls was arguably the most widely discussed and foremost political philosopher of the 20th century. His first book, ‘A Theory of Justice’ gave a new life to the social contract theory, using it to create a liberal society using his principles of justice.
In this assignment, I will be discussing a thought experiment developed by Rawls in ‘A Theory of Justice’, the original position. The original position is essentially a hypothetical condition that asks: when parties have knowledge of human affairs but are completely deprived of information about other people and the people they represent by the “veil of ignorance”, then what principles of justice would they choose for society?
I’ve discussed the original position through various perspectives and connections, especially with classical utilitarianism. I’ve also included its criticism by various thinkers and then summed up my assignment with a conclusion.
JOHN RAWLS: A LIFE SKETCH
John Bordley Rawls (1921-2002) was one of America’s most influential philosophers in the post World War II world. He was part of a rich tradition of liberal contract theorists and his theories were usually compared with those of Thomas Hobbes, Rousseau, John Locke and Immanuel Kant.
His very first book, ‘A Theory of Justice’ was
AND
THE ORIGINAL POSITION
Name: Akshay Shetty
Class: TYBA
Roll No: 321
Subject: Political Thinkers
Course Code: 5.02
Title: John Rawls and the Original Position
INDEX
No.
Topic
Page No.
1.
Introduction
3
2.
John Rawls: A Life Sketch
4
3.
The Original Position
6
4.
The Original Position and the Social Contract
7
5.
Nature of the Original Position
9
6.
The veil of ignorance
11
7.
Rationality in the original position
13
8.
The maximin principle
15
9.
The original position and utilitarianism
17
10.
Criticism of the original position
19
11.
Conclusion
21
12.
References
22
13.
Bibliography
23
INTRODUCTION
John Rawls was arguably the most widely discussed and foremost political philosopher of the 20th century. His first book, ‘A Theory of Justice’ gave a new life to the social contract theory, using it to create a liberal society using his principles of justice.
In this assignment, I will be discussing a thought experiment developed by Rawls in ‘A Theory of Justice’, the original position. The original position is essentially a hypothetical condition that asks: when parties have knowledge of human affairs but are completely deprived of information about other people and the people they represent by the “veil of ignorance”, then what principles of justice would they choose for society?
I’ve discussed the original position through various perspectives and connections, especially with classical utilitarianism. I’ve also included its criticism by various thinkers and then summed up my assignment with a conclusion.
JOHN RAWLS: A LIFE SKETCH
John Bordley Rawls (1921-2002) was one of America’s most influential philosophers in the post World War II world. He was part of a rich tradition of liberal contract theorists and his theories were usually compared with those of Thomas Hobbes, Rousseau, John Locke and Immanuel Kant.
His very first book, ‘A Theory of Justice’ was
References: JOHN RAWLS: A LIFE SKETCH John Bordley Rawls (1921-2002) was one of America’s most influential philosophers in the post World War II world