Study Questions

  1. What is the original position and what role does it play in Rawls’s theory? Do you think consideration of the original position is useful in constructing a theory of justice? Why or why not?
  2. What two principles of justice does Rawls endorse? Do you find them plausible? Describe what you take to be the most serious objection to one of these principles, and how you think Rawls would respond to it.
  3. How does Rawls think that one should go about justifying a conception of justice (whether his social contract conception, or any other)? How does his view contrast with other views about the justification of moral claims? Is the method that Rawls provides a plausible one?
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