JOHN RAWLS

Yodi Nebrija, PhD

Professor of Philosophy
Saint Louis University
JOHN RAWLS (1921-2002)
BORN
FEBRUARY 21, 1921, IN BALTIMORE,
MARYLAND, TO WILLIIAM RAWLS AND
ANNA ABELL STUMP RAWLS.
EDUCATION
BACHELOR OF ARTS, PRINCETON
UNIVERSITY (1943).
DOCTORATE OF MORAL PHILOSOPHY,
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY (1950).
RELIGION
ORIGINALLY AN EPISCOPALIAN, BUT LOST
FAITH AFTER HIS SERVICE IN WORLD WAR II.

FAMILY
MARRIED FOR 53 YEARS TO MARGARET
FOX. TOGETHER THEY HAD FOUR
CHILDREN:
ANNE WARFIELD, ROBERT LEE, ALEXANDER
EMORY, AND ELIZABETH FOX

TEEHEE
HIGHLIGHTS
 SERVED IN NEW GUINEA, THE PHILIPPINES, AND JAPAN IN THE U.S. INFANTRY
(1943-1946)
 FULBRIGHT FELLOWSHIP TO OXFORD UNIVERITY (1952-1953)
 INSTUCTOR AT PRINCETON UNIVERSITY (1950-1952), ASSISTANT AND
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY (1953-1959). PROFESSOR AT
MASSACHUSETTS INTSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (1060-1962) AND HARVARD
UNIVERSITY (1962-1995).
 PRESIDENT, AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF POLITICAL AND LEGAL PHILOSOPHY
(1970-1972).
 PRESIDENT, AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL ASSOCIATION (1974).
 MEMBER, AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES, AMERICAN
PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, BRITISH ACADEMY, AND NORWEGIAN ACADEMY
OF SCIENCES.
 SCHOCK PRIZE FOR LOGIC AND PHILISOPHY (1999).
 NATIONAL HUMANITIES MEDAL (1999).

DIED
NOVEMBER 24, 2002, AT HIS HOME IN LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

TEEHEE
 RAWLS’ A THEORY OF
JUSTICE IS A VERSION OF
SOCIAL CONTRACT THEORY
• Contractarian view of justice.
• Justice is a solution to a problem
 SEVERAL INFLUENTIAL WORKS OF
PHILOSOPHY INCLUDING:
 A THEORY OF JUSTICE (1971)
 POLITICAL LIBERALISM (1993)
 THE LAW OF PEOPLES (2001)
 JUSTICE AS FAIRNESS: A RESTATEMENT
(2001)
The Original Position
  is a thought experiment  in which the parties select
principles that will determine the basic structure of the
society they will live in.
 This choice is made from behind a ’veil of ignorance’,
which would deprive participants of information about
their particular characteristics: his or her ethnicity,
social status, gender and, crucially, their conception of
The Good. This forces participants to select principles
impartially and rationally
 Our guiding principle is “Justice as Fairness”.
THEORY OF JUSTICE

focused on distributive justice and

attempted to reconcile the competing
claims of the values of freedom and
equality. 

i. Original Position
ii. Principles of Justice
o Equal liberty
o Fair equality of opportunity
Veil of Ignorance
• Asking individuals to step back from real circumstances
and view the situation by forgetting about race, class,
gender, and similar factors
• Fairness is fundamental for justice
• Negotiating social agreements based on equality behind a
veil of ignorance. By doing so, risk are minimized and
weaker parties are protected.
• A hypothetical social contract is made behind the veil.

TEEHEE
Justice as Fairness

• Aims to describe a arrangement of the major

political institutions of a liberal society the
political constitution, and the legal system.
• Justice as “the first virtue of social
institutions”
Topics:
 2 moral powers
 2 Principles
Rawls’ Thought Experiment
1. Imagine humankind before society came into being
– a natural state.
2. People then asked to create a society which decides
how wealth and goods are to be distributed.
3. However, before they make any decisions they are
placed behind a ‘veil of ignorance”, which means
they do not have any idea how successful they will
be, or how wealthy they will become. Life is a
lottery!
TEEHEE
Two moral powers

• Conception of justice
• Conception of good
TEEHEE
Principles of Justices
o Principle 1: each person has an equal right to the
same basic liberties that are compatible with similar
liberties for all
o Principle 2: Social and economic inequalities are to
satisfy two conditions:
a) They are to be attached to offices and positions
open to all under conditions of fair equality of
opportunity.
b) They are to provide the greatest benefit to the
least advantaged members of society.
Rawls’ first principle.
• The basic liberties for all citizens:
– Political liberty (right to vote and be eligible for public
office).
– Freedom of speech and assembly.
– Liberty of conscience and freedom of thought.
– Freedom regarding your own person.
– Right to hold personal property.
– Freedom from arbitrary arrest and seizure as these are
understood under the rule of law.

TEEHEE
Rawls’ second principle.
• Holding positions of authority and offices of
command open is clear enough.
– For example, no hereditary positions.
– No exclusions based on gender, race, etc.
– No “tests” based on wealth or property.
• Arranging social and economic inequities so that
everyone benefits is less clear.
– However, Rawls provides the framework for thinking
about this – original position and veil of ignorance.

TEEHEE
 Thank you 
“No one deserves his greater natural
capacity nor merits a more favorable
starting place in society.”
(A Theory of Justice, Chapter II, section 17)