John Rawls / Mencius
John Rawls's A Theory of Justice is concerned with distributive rather than retributive justice: there is precious little discussion of crime and punishment in Rawls's magnum opus, but plenty of discussion about equality and fairness. Rawls seems to be embarked on a Kantian ethical project of establishing universal principles, but his chief concern is to establish his principles without requiring, as Kant does, an appeal to God as the ultimate guarantor of the moral necessity of his conclusions. In place of God, Rawls offers a thought experiment, which he calls the "Original Position." The reader is asked to imagine himself or herself before birth, being offered a comprehensive survey of the different types of lives into which he or she could potentially be born. Rawls wants the reader to consider whether the available permissible options in a given society are, in themselves, an existing critique of the…...

John Rawls' theory…. In his book A Theory of Justice John Rawls offers readers a "Kantian Interpretation" of his "original position," according to an essay in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SAP). First, a review of Rawls' "original position" will set up the explanation of his Kantian link. Rawls posits (in his "original position") that in understanding his philosophy readers should imagine themselves as "…free and equal" and as willing to agree to "commit themselves to the principles of social and political justice" (SAP, p. 1). The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy asserts that the "main distinguishing feature" of Rawls' "original position" is "the veil of ignorance" (SEP, p. 1). hat that means is that in order to be certain there is a total "impartiality of judgment, the parties are deprived of all knowledge of their personal characteristics and social and historical circumstances" (SEP. p. 1).
In the original position (the "veil…...

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Works Cited

Brooks, Thom, and Freyenhagen, Fabian. (2005). The Legacy of John Rawls. New York:

Continuum International Publishing Group.

Piccard, Richard. (2003). A Theory of Justice, by John Rawls. Ohio University. Retrieved February 20, 2012, from  http://www.ohio.edu/people/piccard/entropy/rawls.html .

Rorty, Richard. (2007). Pragmatism. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved February

Liberal equality is another principle that was propagated by awls and focuses on the removal of artificial obstacles or man made obstacles as opposed to the natural liberty principles. awls here argues for the removal of inequalities which act as disadvantages to some people and this can be achieved trough giving them a just share of the primary goods the society has to offer. This principle neglects the natural endowments natural disadvantages. Another philosopher, onald Dworkin therefore argues that even if these social primary goods are assembled yet the people with natural disabilities are not given some form of insurance, then they would still be disadvantaged (Matthew Clayton, n.d:8).

The concept of democratic equality deals with liberty and equality. It brings into perspective the basic freedoms and rights like those of speech and assembly among the others. It states that each individual should be accorded these in order to ensure the…...

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Robert Cavalier et.al. (2012). John Rawls: A Theory of Justice (1971). Drury College. Retrieved October 10, 2012 from  http://caae.phil.cmu.edu/cavalier/Forum/meta/background/Rawls.html 

Leif Wenar, (2012). John Rawls. Retrieved October 10, 2012 from  http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rawls/ 

Matthew Clayton, (n.d). Liberal Equality and Ethics. Retrieved October 10, 2012 from  http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/pais/people/clayton/research/liberalequality/liberalequality.pdf

John Rawls reworks the theses contained in his previous works with Justice as Fairness: A Restatement. Rawls' political philosophy is a modern formulation, presupposing a democratic foundation, which seeks to define justice as a purely political concept. Because Rawls' previous work, A Theory of Justice, still contained moral arguments, the author here attempts to divest the concept of justice as fairness from its moral underpinnings. Therefore, with Justice as Fairness: A Restatement, Rawls reformulates the basic theories contained within his former works in order to distinguish the political from the moral or philosophical spheres. Justice as Fairness contains elements found in the theories of political philosophers like Locke, Hobbes, Kant, Hegel, and Marx and the book is a compilation of his political philosophy lectures at Harvard in the 1980s. Rawls systematically analyses the idea of justice as a primarily political concept. He then applies this concept to a workable theory…...

As Hampton (1997) points out, "By using this argument, awls hopes to persuade readers that he has good reasons for commending his theory as correct, without relying on undefended or ill-defined intuitions" (p. 140).
But is his theory really "correct?" Is it even conceivable to apply awls' principles of egalitarianism to a society in which competition is rampant and 'status' is the permanent engraving on the proverbial brass ring? Moreover, in this increasingly globally connected world, could awls' theory of justice be conceivably functional on an international level? Taking into consideration the idealistic nature of awls' suppositions, combined with the complex list of criteria that would need to be fulfilled in order for his vision to take shape, I would have deny the applicability of awls' philosophies to the 21st century. It is possible that his principles may have worked in the small villages of Colonial New England where communities…...

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References

Hampton, J. (1997) Political philosophy. Boulder, CO: Westview Press

Rawls, J. (1971) Theory of justice, Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press

Rawls, J. (1994) Justice as fairness. Cited in Goodin, R.E. & Pettit, P. eds. (2006) Contemporary political philosophy: An anthology. Wiley-Blackwell, p. 194)

Shaw, W.H. (2007) Business ethics. Wadsworth Publishing.

awls and the Just Society
Today's United States society is not just because it violates both principles of John awls' theory of justice based on the "original position." This paper will explain awls' principles and show how the U.S. violates those principles.

awls states that justice is fairness (MacKinnon, Fiala, 2015, p. 78) within the framework of the social contract, which stems back to ousseau (2012, p. 1), who ironically pointed out that "man is born free, yet everywhere is in chains" -- alluding to the fact that in a free society, man ought not to be a made a slave of institutions such as Church, aristocracy or government. This is the "original position" regarding man's natural state, what ousseau and the Enlightenment thinkers believe is not a "fallen state of human nature," but one that is free to assert the "rights of man." These rights were popular at the time that…...

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References

Jones, E.M. (2000). Libido Dominandi. IN: St. Augustine's Press.

MacKinnon, B., Fiala, A. Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues. CT: Cengage.

Rousseau, J. (2012). Social Contract. NY: Courier.

Political Science: John awls
John awls: Political Philosopher

In the Preface to A Theory of Justice, the late philosopher John awls goes beyond what would normally be expected of an author in terms of laying out practical suggestions "to make things easier for the reader," such as noting that his "fundamental intuitive ideas of the theory of justice" are to be found on the first four pages of Chapter I. He also reports that in finishing the final three different versions of manuscript for the book, he passed those versions among "students and colleagues," and that he "benefited beyond estimation from the innumerable suggestions and criticisms" he received.

awls even went to the trouble of mentioning the names of colleagues who had contributed ideas, suggestions and criticisms; and he has delved into the specific changes that those individuals added to his final manuscript. This openness on his part would seem to suggest that…...

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References

Kaufmann, Walter. On the Genealogy of Morals/Ecce homo. New York: Vintage Books,

1967.

Nozick, Robert. Anarchy, State, and Utopia. New York: Basic Books, 1974.

Rawls, John. A Theory of Justice. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press, 1971.

Justice, political philosopher John Rawls looks at the idea of social justice and the individual rights of the individual by redefining the last 200+ years of the American experience. In general, he looks at the manner in which the Founding Fathers were correct by basing their views on previous social contract theorists like Locke and Rousseau. For example, there is a clear linkage between John Locke and Rawls that validates the ideas of liberalism within American society. In fact, Rawls notes that the American Experience extended the concept of justice far beyond hat any of the Enlightenment philosophers ever hoped (Rawls, 1957).
Rawls (1921-2002), an American philosopher who focused on moral and political philosophy, believed that the principles of justice are the models that rational individuals who are free would choose as basic ways to cooperate within their society. He called this position the original position, in that it was…...

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Works Cited

Kamm, F. (2007). Intricate Ethics: Rights, Responsibilities and Permissible Harm. New York: Oxford University Press.

Rawls, J. (1957). Justice as Fairness. Philosophical Review. 54 (22): 653-62.

Rawls, J. (1999). A Theory of Justice. Boston, MA: Harvard University Press.

Rawls, J. (2001). A Theory of Justice. New York: Oxford University Press.

Airbrushing
John Rawls' philosophical theme centers on the topic of "justice as fairness." It's hard not to relate this to one of the growing topics of discussion, namely the importance of digital deception which might well include the idea of airbrushing photos and images. Technology has the capacity today to provide us all with a Veil of Ignorance (Freeman, 2009) that even Rawls did not see coming and one that has the capacity of wiping away the honest elements of rationality and reason that he believes is necessary for people to be able to work together toward a balanced and honest society that works well for everyone.

The issue of airbrushing models or maybe the basic characteristics of those we admire or who are the attention of a public event can mean nothing more than making pictures prettier. This as we know can mean relatively little, or it can lead some to…...

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Birnholtz, J., Guillory, J., Hancock, J., and Bazarova, N. (2010) "on my way": Deceptive Texting and Interpersonal Awareness Narratives. Cornel University. Downloadable at  http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/redmond/groups/connect/cscw_10/docs/p1.pdf .

Freeman, S. (2009). "Original Position," The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.). Viewable at  http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2009/entries/original-position/ .

Hutchinson, W. (2006). Information Warfare & Deception. Informing Science. Vol. 9.

James, K. (2011). Digital Deception. Simple Lies that manage our social interactions. Viewable within JayPlay at http://media.features.kansan.com/issues/jayplay/2011-11-03.pdf.

Dworkin's two models are extremes in their own right with regard to individual rights; the first model puts balancing individual rights against other social goals. The second model holds that one should err on the side of individual rights instead of balancing them among a whole society. These two models do not encompass a middle ground of a liberal democracy such as the U.S. when examining the place that individual rights have in a society; always putting individual rights ahead of the needs of society can be just as damaging to ignoring individual rights in favor of the overall needs of society.
The "two models" approach is especially relevant in light of the new threats to national security posed by terrorism and the acceptable ways of not only preventing terror but also of treating the accused in these situations. The dispute over the civil liberties that are available to the detainees…...

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Works Cited

Rosseau, J. 3rd ed The Social Contract. Penguin Classics, 1968.

Kant, Immanuel. Critique of Pure Reason. Translated by J. Meikljohn. Prometheus, 1990.

Rawls, John. A Theory of Justice. Belknap Press, 1999.

Rawls, John. Handout on 1st/2nd Principles of Justice.

Utilitarianism
The author of this report is to offer a fairly extensive essay about three general questions relating to utilitarianism. The first question pertains to John awls and his deconstructions of utilitarianism and what came to be known as "the analogy." The second question pertains to the views of Peter Singer as stated and enumerated in Famine, Affluence and Morality. Last up will be Bernard Williams. Like awls, he generally viewed utilitarianism poorly and offers specific examples and explanations of why he did not agree with the subject. For all three questions, there will be a critique or criticism of the overall argument. While cases can be made for both utilitarianism and its opposite, there are some rather gaping holes in the logic that justifies utilitarianism and how it works.

Questions Answered

Of all of the ethical and moral philosophers out there, awls is certainly one of the more notorious and notable. awls…...

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References

Rawls, J. (1971). A theory of justice. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard

Singer, P. (1972). Famine, Affluence, and Morality. Philosophy and Public Affairs, 1(1).

Smart, J., & Williams, B. (1973). Utilitarianism; for and against. Cambridge [England:

In order to gain a more complex understanding of Novick's idea of liberty one would actually have to consider the difference principle and the effects it would have on groups of people who managed to differentiate themselves from the masses by becoming productive and by directing their attention toward making profits without hurting anyone or acting in disagreement with rights generally accepted by the social order. Rawls virtually acts in discordance with all that Novick's stands for, as the latter considers freedom as being one of the most important concepts that society has access to.

Novick would certainly be reluctant to accept living in a society where people accept the difference principle and guide themselves in accordance to it. The philosopher's book "Anarchy, State, and Utopia" is practically meant to condemn individuals like Rawls as a result of their ignorance of ideas that are very obvious. It is likely that Novick…...

It would strive to minimize the pay and quality-of-life differential between the wealthiest individuals and the poorest, although it would permit whatever differential justified by the greater good served by certain professional commitments and responsibilities.
Rawls' ideas if incorporated into society would not compel any person to contribute to the greater good any more than he or she desired; they would simply impose mechanisms for distributing resources and potential rewards in the most socially beneficial and equitable manner. Industries that produce socially beneficial products and services that contribute to the greater good would be permitted to profit more from those endeavors than superfluous industries; physicians would be entitled to sufficient compensation and benefits to ensure against any shortage of physicians in society; and police officers and firefighters would earn more than professional athletes, although closer to several times the average wage in society instead of the equivalent of hundreds or…...

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"Many social decisions are, of course, of an administrative nature. Certainly this is so when it is a matter of social utility in what one may call its ordinary sense: that is, when it is a question of the efficient design of social institutions for the use of common means to achieve common ends" (Rawls, 1958 p187).

Rawls' ideas would seem to comport perfectly with the essential purpose of public administration services. In principle, the entire structure of modern administrative services in society is precisely to improve society and contribute to the public good much more efficiently and effectively than individual citizens could ever hope to, even in a collaborative effort. Granted, to a certain extent, Rawls' ideas could be seen as excessively constraining individual initiative and creativity; however, in the realm of public administration of social services and justice, they would greatly increase the quality of life and contribute to the greater good. Instead of the poorly motivated, apathetic attitudes frequently associated with civil service employment, Rawls' ideas would reward civil servants sufficiently to guarantee much greater commitment to their responsibilities.

Generally, modern public administration and civil service exemplify the very concepts emphasized by Rawls except that the pay differential between civil servants and employment in many areas of the private sector greatly detract from the communal spirit and cooperation that Rawls hoped to promote through his ideas. Ultimately, while some of the specific mechanisms suggested by Rawls' ideas may be impractical to impose on a free society, their general purpose is likely achievable to some degree simply by increasing awareness of some of the conceptual arguments.

Justice in Society According to awls and Hampshire
This is paper contrasting the political philosophies of awls and Hampshire according o their views in 'Political liberalism' the Law of Peoples' and 'Justice as Conflict'. 4 sources are given.

Very few alternatives to the prevalent utilitarianism, dominant in most of the Western world, have emerged and made any significant impact. The theories of John awls however have made an important contribution to political philosophy and if not unanimously agreed upon they nevertheless have led to a revival in the academic study of political philosophy. His work has provoked debate amongst economists, legal scholars, political scientists, sociologists, and theologians alike. His Theory of Justice and subsequent additions and modifications to this hypothesis in the form of 'Political liberalism' and 'The Law of Peoples' is a comprehensive and detailed proposal that evolved over decades.

The 'Justice as Conflict' theory put forward by another eminent scholar, Stuart…...

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References

Hampshire, Stuart. "Justice Is Conflict." Princeton University Press. 2001.

Martin, Rex. "Rawls's New Theory of Justice," Chicago-Kent Law Review, Volume 69: 737-761, 1994.

Rawls, John. Political Liberalism, New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 1993.

Rawls, John. The Law of Peoples: with "The Idea of Public Reason Revisited" Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1999.

rights exist and where they come from can provide a useful approach to thinking about justice. To this end, this paper provides a review of the relevant literature concerning how rights relate to Nozick's entitlement theory of just distribution and how Nozick uses the Wilt Chamberlain example to argue for his preferred view. In addition, a discussion concerning the question of society and natural rights by considering awls' focus on the original position and fairness is followed by an analysis of the applicability of awl's "veil of ignorance" to decision making. Finally, an examination of the possible implications of these two different approaches to justice and economic distribution for a real-world water case study is followed by a summary of the research and important findings concerning these issues in the conclusion.
eview and Discussion

What may have been regarded as just distribution at one point in time may be viewed far…...

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References

Aalberg, T. (2003). Achieving justice: Comparative public opinion on income distribution.

Boston: Brill.

Hill, T.E. (2000). Respect, pluralism, and justice: Kantian perspectives. Oxford: Oxford

Johnson, R.N. (2013). Nozick and the entitlement theory. University of Missouri. Retrieved from http://web.missouri.edu/~johnsonrn/nozick.html.

1. The Concept of Justice in Rawls and Nozick's Political Theory:
- Analyze and compare John Rawls' and Robert Nozick's theories of justice.
- Discuss the implications of their views on social and economic equality.
- Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of their respective arguments.


2. Utilitarianism vs. Deontology: A Comparative Analysis:
- Compare and contrast the ethical theories of utilitarianism and deontology.
- Explore the strengths and weaknesses of each theory in terms of their application to political decision-making.
- Discuss the relevance of these theories in contemporary political debates.


3. The Legitimacy of Political Authority:
- Examine different theories of....