John Rawls
An American philosopher whose 'A Theory of Justice' proposed a thought experiment of the 'original position' and 'veil of ignorance' to derive principles of a just society.
Quotes by John Rawls
The principles of justice are to be chosen by rational persons in an initial situation of equality.
The idea of a well-ordered society is fundamental to justice as fairness.
The concept of justice is distinct from the concept of morality.
The principles of justice are not derived from a comprehensive moral doctrine.
The idea of an overlapping consensus shows how a stable and just society can be achieved despite deep disagreements among citizens.
The Law of Peoples aims to show how a liberal foreign policy is possible and how it can be justified.
The principles of justice are to be chosen by rational agents who are mutually disinterested.
The idea of public reason is not about what people say, but about the reasons they give for their political decisions.
The basic liberties are those that are essential for the development and exercise of the two moral powers: a sense of justice and a conception of the good.
The aim of justice as fairness is to provide a reasonable conception of justice for a democratic society.
Justice is the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought. A society is well-ordered if it is not only designed to advance the good of its members but if it is also effectively regulated by a conception of justice.
Liberty is the worthiest of all human attributes.
In justice as fairness, the original position of equality corresponds to the state of nature in the traditional theory of the social contract.
The natural duty to uphold justice is prior to the duty to comply with an unjust law.
Political liberalism must assign to the family its due place.
The idea of public reason specifies the content of certain political arguments.
Overlapping consensus exists when the doctrines of all reasonable comprehensive views support the same political conception.
A well-ordered society is one governed by a public conception of justice that all citizens accept.
The difference principle represents, in effect, an agreement to regard the distribution of natural talents as a common asset.
In a just society, citizens take responsibility for their ends.