Rawls’s Contractarian Ethical Theory
Rawls’s Contractarian Ethical Theory
Rawls’s book: A Theory of Justice
Rawls’s basic assumptions:
• Moral principles are principles governing interactions among the members of a “well-ordered society.”
• A well-ordered society is a society
o that seeks to advance the good of its members
o whose basic institutions are regulated by a “public conception of justice”
o whose members accept the same principles of justice
o that is stable
• Moral principles are those that would be negotiated by the members of a well-ordered society if those members were negotiating in an “original position.”
The Original Position
• The negotiators are rational, self-interested individuals.
• Each negotiator makes his/her choices behind a “veil of ignorance.”
o No one knows his/her social status.
o No one knows his/her natural abilities—intelligence, strength, etc.
o No one knows his/her “conception of the good”—i.e., his/her life goals, psychological/personality characteristics, etc.
o No one knows the economic or political state of the society—i.e., how advanced it is technologically, culturally, etc.
o No one knows which generation he/she belongs to—present or future.
According to Rawls, the principles that would emerge from the negotiators would include the following:
1. Each person would have an equal right to the most extensive basic liberty compatible with a similar liberty for others.
2. Maximin principle: Economic and social inequalities are permissible if they are (a) likely to be to everyone’s advantage, and (b) “attached to positions and offices open to all.”
According to Rawls,
• The principles of distribution of benefits and burdens that would emerge from the negotiations in the original position would determine the principles of distributive justice (pure procedural justice).
• The principles of conduct that would emerge from the negotiations in the original position would determine the principles of right and wrong.
................
................
In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.
To fulfill the demand for quickly locating and searching documents.
It is intelligent file search solution for home and business.
Related searches
- ethical theory and business pdf
- ethical theory types
- ethical theory list
- ethical theory examples
- ethical theory examples in healthcare
- kant s ethical theory essay outline
- ethical theory and moral practice
- ethical theory and moral practice journal
- world s most ethical companies ethisphere
- the world s most ethical companies
- world s most ethical companies 2020
- ethical theory definition