Gustafsson, Carl Johan Eric orcid.org/0000-0002-9618-577X (2018) The Difference Principle Would Not Be Chosen behind the Veil of Ignorance. Journal of Philosophy. pp. 588-604. ISSN 1939-8549
Abstract
John Rawls argues that the Difference Principle (also known as the Maximin Equity Criterion) would be chosen by parties trying to advance their individual interests behind the Veil of Ignorance. Behind this veil, the parties do not know who they are and they are unable to assign or estimate probabilities to their turning out to be any particular person in society. Much discussion of Rawls’s argument concerns whether he can plausibly rule out the parties’ having access to probabilities about who they are. Nevertheless, I argue that, even if the parties lacked access to probabilities about who they are in society, they would still reject the Difference Principle. I argue that there are cases where it is still clear to the parties that it is not in any of their individual interests that the Difference Principle is adopted.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2018 The Journal of Philosophy, Inc.. This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. Further copying may not be permitted; contact the publisher for details. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Arts and Humanities (York) > Philosophy (York) |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 08 Oct 2018 14:10 |
Last Modified: | 02 Apr 2025 23:13 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.5840/jphil20181151134 |
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.5840/jphil20181151134 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:136838 |
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