DISCUSSION PROMPT – THE VEIL OF IGNORANCE
Have you ever wondered why Lady Justice is blind? Perhaps it is because in order to preserve justice we must be blind to other things.
For this final Symposium discussion, you will draw upon various elements of the three ethical theories we have focused on in this course: utilitarianism, deontology and this week’s theory of virtue ethics. You will also draw upon your ideas that may have come to you during the course.
The goal of this Symposium is to have all of you work to create a just society by having each of you generate at least one law that you think would be moral and just. Please do this in two paragraphs. In the first paragraph, talk about. what you think of when you think of justice. For example, how would you define it? What are the essential characteristics – the things something has by virtue of its nature – of justice? Presumably, if a given law is just, then its opposite is unjust. To paraphrase Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s statement that “an unjust law is no law at all,” must a law be just for everyone in order for it to be a just law? What connection is there between virtue and justice? Can someone
be just but not virtuous? (These are some of the things you can consider but it is a free flowing discussion so feel free to go where your mind takes you.)
For the second paragraph, view the video below which provides a quick overview of an idea put forth by the philosopher John Rawls who is noted for his work on justice and fairness and for “The Veil of Ignorance” thought experiment which is explained in the video
The basic idea in this thought experiment is to imagine yourself as a lawmaker in a society that you are about to be a member of. You will make a law that everyone in the society must obey but the kicker is that you have no idea beforehand who you will be in this society. This means that you do not know your race, religion, ethnicity, economic status, etc.
Begin your second paragraph with the law that you have thought of and use bold font so that it stands out and grabs our attention.
After stating your law, explain why you chose this particular law and why you find it to be just and fair and moral.
Reflect on “The Veil of ignorance” in terms of how not knowing anything about who we might be in the society impacts the laws we might make.
Finally, at the end of the video the idea is posed that inequality can be just if it benefits everyone. Do you agree with this? Why or why not?
