Introduction to Political Philosophy

Justice as Fairness

As you read the material for the next class, keep the questions below in mind. To answer these questions you will have to reflect critically on what you have read and possibly re-read important passages. Keep in mind that there are two basic kinds of information that you need to look for in the readings.

  1. What are the main points or conclusions that an author accepts with respect to a particular issue?
  2. What are the reasons or important considerations that lead the author to accept that conclusion?

For our purposes, it is information of the latter sort (2) that will be our primary concern since our most basic task is to evaluate the reasons that are offered to support accepting one possible conclusion about an issue, rather than another. Although I strongly suggest that you write out brief answers to these questions, you do not have to turn in written responses. You do, however, need to be prepared to speak intelligently to these issues in the next class meeting.

Reading:

  • John Rawls, A Theory of Justice, Chapter I (Sections 1-6), pp. 3-30.

Questions:

  1. How does Rawls compare justice in social institutions to truth in systems of thought? Do you find this comparison an apt one?
  2. According to Rawls, what are principles of social justice supposed to provide and define? What is society and what does it mean for it to be well-ordered?
  3. Throughout, Rawls makes a distinction between “the concept of justice” and “a conception of justice”. What is this distinction and why is it brought up?
  4. How does Rawls understand his theory’s relation to social contract theory? What are the “original position” and the “veil of ignorance” supposed to accomplish in this regard? How are these constructs justified?
  5. What is Rawls’ idea of “justice as fairness”?
  6. What is the “reflective equilibrium”? Is this something we could ever realistically attain (in any domain) or it is an empty ideal?
  7. What are Rawls’ arguments against Classical Utilitarianism? How does the priority of justice figure in here?
  8. What are the differences between Classical Utilitarianism and Justice as Fairness?

 

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