Quotation
Last reviewed:
“Among the essential features of this situation is that no one knows his place in society.”
John Rawls · Political philosophy · Modern · 1971
What does it mean?
Among the essential features of the original position is that no one knows his place in society. The veil hides class, talents, and aims so that principles are not tailored to the person you happen to be. A rival reading says the veil is a trick to produce a liberal result by banning the knowledge real people use. He thinks the ban is what fairness means in the choice of principles for the basic structure. Another reading treats the sentence as a call to empathy in daily life. Empathy may result.
Did John Rawls really say this?
The library’s label is Well attested. Rawls's English in the section on the veil of ignorance. The situation is the original position. No one knows his or her place, class, fortune, abilities, or conception of the good. The card quotes the feature he puts first. 'His' is the 1971 pronoun.
Where it comes from
A Theory of Justice, §24
Approximate date: 1971.
How to use it
A housing policy in a London borough is designed by people who know they will not live in the worst of it. The sentence asks what they would still sign if they might. The ask is not a consultation method you can run on a Tuesday without remainder. It is a test of whether the policy's appeal depends on knowing you are safe. If it does, he thinks you have not yet chosen under the constraint that makes the choice fair.
A mindset reading
Section 24 is the veil. Section 3 is the guiding idea of the original agreement. The summary 'chosen behind a veil' is already in this library as a paraphrase. This sentence is his own feature-list, and it is the one to cite when the paraphrase feels too smooth.
Understand the philosophy
A Theory of Justice, 1971. His English. Later he revised the presentation in Political Liberalism and in Justice as Fairness: A Restatement. The 1971 sentence is still the sentence. The revisions are why a single line should not be asked to carry forty years.
- justice
- knowledge
- society
FAQ
What does it mean?
Among the essential features of the original position is that no one knows his place in society. The veil hides class, talents, and aims so that principles are not tailored to the person you happen to be. A rival reading says the veil is a trick to produce a liberal result by banning the knowledge real people use. He thinks the ban is what fairness means in the choice of principles for the basic structure. Another reading treats the sentence as a call to empathy in daily life. Empathy may result.
Did John Rawls really say this?
Well attested. Rawls's English in the section on the veil of ignorance. The situation is the original position. No one knows his or her place, class, fortune, abilities, or conception of the good. The card quotes the feature he puts first. 'His' is the 1971 pronoun.
Which work is it in?
A Theory of Justice, §24 Approximate date: 1971.