John Rawls

John Rawls

  • Submitted By: finnane3
  • Date Submitted: 12/16/2013 5:38 AM
  • Category: Philosophy
  • Words: 1328
  • Page: 6
  • Views: 70

John Rawls was an American philosopher born in 1921. He was a liberal thinker who wrote many books. The first of his books to be published was ‘’A Theory of Justice’’ in 1971. The general idea Rawls wants to put in front of us through this book is that all social primary goods such as, income and wealth, access to education and health care, opportunity, the basis of self respect and liberty are to be distributed equally unless an unequal distribution of any or all of these goods is to the advantage of the least favoured. ‘’A Theory of Justice’’ revolves around the adaptation of two fundamental principles of justice which would, in turn, guarantee a fair and morally acceptable society. The first principle deals with liberty. It guarantees the right of each person to have the most extensive basic liberty compatible with the liberty of others. The second principle deals with wealth. It states that social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are both 1) to the greater advantage of the least privileged people and 2) attached to positions and offices open to all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity. Rawls wanted to eliminate disadvantage through privileged birth, natural talents and abilities. Rawls was influenced by other philosophers such as Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau and in this essay I will focus mainly on Thomas Hobbes and how he influenced his ideas. One of the key problems for Rawls was to show how these principles would be universally adapted. Perhaps the most influential idea of Rawls’ book is the famous thought experiment he called the "Original Position." He introduces a theoretical ‘’veil of ignorance’’ in which all the people/players in the social game are placed in a situation which is called the original position. Each person has only a general knowledge about the facts of life and society and with this knowledge each player has to make a ‘’rationally prudential decision’’ regarding the kind of social institution they...

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