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John Rawls (1921 – 2002)
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:
John Borden (Bordley) Rawls was born in Baltimore, Maryland.Upon graduation in 1939, Rawls went on to Princeton University where he became interested in philosophy. ... During this time (World War II), Rawls served as an infantryman in the Pacific where he toured New Guinea, the Philippines, and Japan and witnessed the aftermath of the bombing of Hiroshima. After this experience, Rawls turned down the offer of becoming an officer and left the army as a private in 1946. ... from Princeton in 1950, Rawls decided to teach there until 1952 when he received a Fulbright Fellowship to Oxford University (Christ Church), where he was influenced by the liberal political theorist and historian of ideas Isaiah Berlin. ... Unfortunately, Rawls suffered the first of several strokes in 1995, which severely impeded his ability to continue working. ...
THE THEORY OF JUSTICE
The Original Position:
Rawls thinks of an ideal situation, wherein, a group of people on equal terms, who dont decide each case separately, but decide on general rules which will then determine cases that arise. ... Importantly, Rawls says that the rules of justice are chosen in an Original Position, behind a veil of ignorance that conceals from the parties facts about themselves (sex, age, physical strength etc) that might be envisaged in attempts to tailor the rules to give some a systematic advantage. In a situation like that, Rawls says, the rules that would get accepted would be fair. ...
Rawls says that people in the Original Position would adopt the following basic rules of justice:
First Principle: Each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive total system of equal basic liberties compatible with a similar system of liberty for all.
Approximate Word count = 1250
Approximate Pages = 5
(250 words per page double spaced)
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