Philosophy

Discussion

Explain Rawls’ “original position” and “veil of ignorance”. What principles of justice does he claim would emerge from such a thought experiment?

The “original position” refers to a hypothetical situation that was developed by Rawls as a thought experiment to replace the imagery of the savage state of nature developed by philosophers such as Hobbes (Vaughn, 2018). In this position, parties select principles that determine the basic structure of society, a choice that is made from behind the veil of ignorance that deprives parties of information about their characteristics (social status, ethnicity, gender, and the conception of the good). Participants are forced to choose principles rationally and impartially. The original position accurately reflects the principles of justice that would thrive in a society based on free and fair cooperation between citizens.

The “veil of ignorance” is a way of determining the moral standing of issues. It involves a decision-maker deciding about a moral issue assuming that they have adequate information to understand the consequences of all possible decisions for everyone without taking into account which person they are (Vaughn, 2018). This theory argues that not knowing one’s position in society would result in the creation of a just system since decision-makers would not want to make decisions that would benefit a certain group at the expense of another as they could end up in either. When political philosophers are making decisions without knowing the talents, social class, positions, and abilities that they will have in a certain social order, the “veil of ignorance” will prevent them from knowing which social group will benefit from a particular decision. They will, therefore, make fair decisions. The idea of this experiment is to nullify personal considerations that are morally wrong in pursuit of justice.

References

Vaughn, L. (2018). Philosophy Here and Now: Powerful Ideas in Everyday Life. Oxford University Press.