John Rawls and the “Veil of Ignorance”

Introduction to John Rawls and the Veil of Ignorance

  • Speaker and Credentials

    • Ben Davies

    • Research Fellow at the Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics at the University of Oxford

    • Focus: Health care justice, human enhancement, animal ethics, and well-being

    • Contact: benjamin.davies@philosophy.ac.uk

  • License Information

    • Work released under a CC-BY license.

Overview of Rawls's Veil of Ignorance

  • Influence:

    • The Veil of Ignorance is one of the most influential philosophical ideas of the 20th century.

  • Purpose:

    • To work out basic institutions and structures of a just society

    • Encourages thinking as if building society from the ground up, acceptable to all reasonable individuals.

  • Key Concept:

    • Original Position

    • A hypothetical scenario used by Rawls to conceptualize justice.

    • Rawls asserts it does not exist in reality, it serves as a framework for thinking about justice.

  • Conclusion from the Original Position:

    • Social justice is determined by what reasonable individuals would agree to in the Original Position.

    • The goal is to make our actual society reflect this ideal.

Design of Society Behind the Veil

  • Challenges in Designing Society:

    • Risk of biases and majority tyranny against minority groups when designing social structures.

  • Assumptions About Society Designers:

    • Individuals behind the Veil are:

    • Free and equal.

    • Motivated by self-interest but willing to engage in reasonable cooperation.

  • Restrictions on Designers:

    • They must choose principles from established views within traditional Western philosophy on justice.

Concept of the Veil of Ignorance

  • Definition:

    • Imaginary construct to assist in the avoidance of biases in societal design.

    • Individuals imagine themselves unaware of specific facts about themselves influencing their decisions.

  • Facts Hidden by the Veil:

    • Demographic Facts: Gender, race, wealth, personal strengths/weaknesses (intelligence, physical prowess).

    • Rawls argues these characteristics are morally arbitrary; individuals do not earn them.

    • Societal Facts:

    • General knowledge about human life but not the specifics of one’s society organization.

    • Personal Values:

    • Preferences about how one's life should go and specific moral/political beliefs are hidden.

  • Objective of the Veil:

    • To prevent personal interests from skewing the development of fair societal arrangements.

    • Ensures fairness by requiring individuals to create arrangements valid for all once the Veil ‘lifts’.

Principles of Justice According to Rawls

  • Primary Goods:

    • Key resources that contribute to well-being, include:

    • Money and other resources

    • Basic rights and freedoms

    • “Social bases of self-respect” to feel like an equal member of society.

  • Decision-Making Principle:

    • Lack of probabilities leads to a conservative approach called Maximin:

    • Maximize the minimum outcome for those in the worst-off position.

Two Principles Emerging from the Veil

  1. First Principle:

    • Each person has an equal claim to a fully adequate scheme of basic liberties compatible with others’ liberties.

  2. Second Principle:

    • Social and economic inequalities must:

      • Be attached to offices available under fair equality of opportunity.

      • Benefit the least advantaged member of society (Difference Principle).

  • Rationale for Principles:

    • The First Principle emphasizes basic liberties, essential for moral equality.

    • The Second Principle allows for inequalities that provide broader benefits while ensuring basic fairness.

Detailed Examination of the Second Principle

  • Fair Equality of Opportunity:

    • Positions must be available to individuals of equal talent and willingness.

    • Inequalities based on race, wealth, or background are unjustified if these assumptions hold.

  • Challenges in Assessment:

    • Questions persist regarding how to assess equal effort and talent given diverse educational and social backgrounds.

  • Difference Principle:

    • Permits inequalities as long as they benefit the least-off by potentially motivating better productivity and generating more Primary Goods.

Criticisms of Rawls's Veil of Ignorance

  • General Overview:

    • Rawls faces various criticisms; three significant objections will be discussed:

1. Ownership and Historical Rights

  • Critique from Robert Nozick:

    • Rawls’s justice theories overlook existing ownership rights and how goods were attained historically.

    • Nozick argues that distribution patterns should respect historical ownership established through labor or inheritance.

  • Self-Ownership:

    • Nozick posits that individuals own themselves; thus, they also own their labor and products thereof.

    • Governments have no right to redistribute owned property against individuals' will.

2. Identity and Neutrality

  • Communitarian Criticism:

    • Emphasizes that real individuals are shaped by their existing social connections, communities, and cultures, which the Veil ignores.

    • Challenges the idea that decisions can be made behind the Veil without recognizing the embedded social context.

  • Implication:

    • Justice requires consideration of local values and community structures rather than abstract principles.

3. Ideal Justice vs. Non-Ideal World

  • Real-World Applicability:

    • Critics argue Rawls’s focus on ideal theories neglects existing injustices such as racism and sexism present in societies.

    • Raises the fundamental question about the value of a theory of justice not providing solutions to real-world injustices.

  • Conclusion and Reformulations:

    • Questions arise regarding adjustments to Rawls’s assumptions and whether they should be radically revised or abandoned.

Conclusion and Reflection

  • Summary of Key Insights:

    • Importance of recognizing personal biases when discussing concepts of justice emphasized by the Veil of Ignorance.

    • Rawls’s framework signals the significance of considering perspectives other than one’s own in discussions of justice.

  • Crucial Observations:

    • Balancing between ideal theoretical constructs and acknowledgment of the complexities within real societies remains critical in philosophical discourse.

  • Reflection Questions for Discussion:

    • Is the Difference Principle practical and what would individuals agree upon behind the Veil?

    • Does the Veil of Ignorance meaningfully oversimplify individual identity?

    • How can Rawls's notion of fair equality of opportunity facilitate real justice in the light of pre-birth influences on talent and inclination?

References

  • Davies, Ben (2019). “John Rawls and the ‘Veil of Ignorance.’” In Introduction to Ethics: An Open Educational Resource, 92–97. Golden West College, Huntington Beach, CA: NGE Far Press.

  • Various referenced works include significant contributions from John Rawls, Robert Nozick, Charles Taylor, Michael Walzer, and others in philosophical justice discourse.