ethics rawls

Reflective Equilibrium

"By going back and forth, sometimes altering the conditions of the contractual circumstances, at others withdrawing our judgements and conforming them to the principle, I assume that eventually we shall find a description of the initial situation that both expresses reasonable conditions and yields principles which match our considered judgments duly pruned and adjusted." -Rawls: ToJ examples: We are confident that religious intolerance and racial discrimination are bad, so we must imagine principles that agree -We are much less confident on the distribution of wealth, so we could be led to change our system to be more in accord with the principles we imagine the contractors would agree upon

rawls wants to find:

"the principles that free and rational persons concerned to further their own interests would accept in an initial position of equality as defining the fundamental terms of their association." -Rawls: ToJ

morality requires that we structure society in such a way that

the benefits and burdens are distributed in a just manner

rights protected under the 1st principle

(1.Each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive total system of equal basic liberties compatible with a similar system of liberties for all.) - political liberty (right to vote and hold office) -freedom of speech and assembly -liberty of conscience and freedom of though -freedom of the person (freedom from psychological oppression and physical assault and dismemberment) -right to hold personal property -freedom from arbitrary arrest and seizure as defined by the concept of the rule of law

actions the contractors take in the original position

-The individuals in the original position behind the veil of ignorance first chose the principles of a conception of justice -Then, they choose a constitution, legislature, etc. in accordance with the principles

the difference principle and its justification

-"Assuming the framework of institutions required by equal liberty and fair equality of opportunity, the higher expectations of those better situated are just if and only if they work as part of a scheme which improves the expectations of the least advantaged members of society." -Rawls: ToJ -"The greater expectations allowed to entrepreneurs encourages them to do things which raise the prospects of the laboring class. Their better prospects act as incentives so that the economic process is more efficient, innovation proceeds at a faster pace, and so on." -Rawls: ToJ

what would be selected instead?

-Equality in the assignment of basic rights and duties -Social and economic inequalities are just only if they result in compensating benefits for everyone, and in particular for the least advantaged members of society

reasons for the veil of ignorance

-No one is advantaged or disadvantaged in the choice of principles by the outcome of natural chance or random social circumstances -Everyone's relations with everyone else is symmetrical -This is an appropriate initial status quo, and fundamental agreements reached in it are fair

what do these principles do?

-These govern the assignment of rights and duties and regulate the distribution of social and economic advantages -The first principle defines and secures equal basic liberties and the second specifies and establishes acceptable social and economic inequalities

possible principles of distribution

-To each an equal share (strict egalitarianism) -To each according to individual need (communism/socialism) -To each according to social contribution -To each according to merit (a uilitariansim system where we should distribute wealth and power in such a way that maximizes overall happiness (well-being) of everyone in a society)

Rawls' Two Principles of Justice

1.each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive total system of qual basic liberties compatible with a similar system of liberty for all. 2. social and economic inequalities are to satisfy two conditions: first, they are to be attached to positions and offices open to all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity; and second, they are to be the greatest expected benefit of the least advantaged members of society.

justice

fairness

Original Position

hypothetical scenario where imagined contractors decide the basic structure for society under the veil of ignorance.

would the principle of utility be selected? (maximize overall happiness)

no, bc no one would choose to make their prospects worse merely for the greater prospects of other people (whom they are disinterested in)

distributive justice

the proper distribution of social benefits and burdens (esp economic benefits and burdens)

real people can never be behind the veil of ignorance because

we are born into a particular situation with details which are not known in the original position

John Rawls (1921-2002)

•American Philosopher, went to Princeton for undergrad (1943) and PhD (1950) •Served in the US Military from 1943-1946 in WWII •Spend most of his academic career at Harvard •Most famous for the theory of "Justice as Fairness" which is introduced and developed in A Theory of Justice (1971) and Justice as Fairness (2001)

rawls goals in a theory of justice

•Generalize and present at a higher level of abstraction the idea of the social contract •Specify the kinds of social cooperation that can be entered into and forms of government that can be established

priority of the principles

•Infringements of the basic equal liberties protected by the first principle cannot be justified, or compensated for, by greater social and economic advantages •Example: The right to personal property cannot be abridged to award extremely high social status -Liberties in the first principle could conflict with each other, so are not absolute, but everyone is treated equally in how to resolve conflicts

Veil of Ignorance

•No one knows their place in society, class position, or social status •No one knows their fortune in the distribution of natural assets and abilities (intelligence, strength, etc.) •No one knows their own conceptions of the good

contractors in the original position are

•Rational: Taking the most effective means to the given ends •Mutually disinterested: Not taking interest in others' interests •Follow the Maximin principle: Are self-interested and choose the option that will maximize the minimum benefits they might receive

interpreting the principles: the basic structure and distribution of basic goods

•The basic structure of society distributes basic goods, things every rational person is presumed to want, regardless of other interests -Basic goods include both social primary goods and natural good -The basic structure distributes social primary goods: (Rights, liberties, opportunities, income, wealth) -However, the basic structure has no control over natural goods: (Health and vigor, intelligence and imagination)

choosing a basic distribution of basic goods pt. 2

•The contractors need to decide if there are any options better than the benchmark of full equality: •Everyone has similar rights and duties, and income and wealth are evenly shared •However, the contractors can't evaluate how their own lives would go under various proposals -instead the contractors consider expectations of representative persons: --People holding various social positions established by the basic structure --Calculate expectation of well-being for these people (life prospects as viewed from their social station) --These expectations are connected: By raising one, it can raise or lower others --The principles do not apply to particular goods or particular people

justice includes the following 4 ideas:

•To be just, we must treat similar cases alike except where there is some relevant difference -We must treat people equally unless some difference is shown that would justify unequal treatment -Justice is a matter of dessert: people must get what they deserve based on their actions -People are treated unjustly when their rights are violated

once we have the possible results of what the contractors would decide in the original position

•We can judge real life social situations to be just if the principles chosen by the people in the original position could have produced them -If a particular set of principles would always be chosen by the contractors in the original position: --If the current situation could be produced by those principles, it is a fair system -The closest we can get to the fairness of creating a system of government behind the veil of ignorance is to follow the principles that the contractors would choose