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What role does the original position play is Rawl's defence of his two principles of justice in "A theory of Justice"?
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What role does the original position play is Rawl's defence of his two principles of justice? In "A Theory of Justice" John Rawls puts forwards a social contract based upon two principles of justice, the idea of "Original Position" is a key feature in understanding and justifying these principles which attempt to be the groundwork for a society operating with the concept of 'Justice as fairness". Rawls uses the 'original position' to help people arrive at the basic principles which should govern any society. He suggests that people should imagine themselves without any government and rationally deduce what kind of a government would be supported by his social contract and therefore achieve a just society in which every citizen is treated fairly. Since he acknowledges that we are essentially self-interested, original position requires us to assume a 'veil of ignorance'. This means we should suppose we are ignorant to factors...
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