What was Rawls' view of the concepts of people living in a "state of nature" and entering into a "social contract"?
How do his ideas contrast with those of Hume?
- Hume believed that both the "state of nature" idea and the voluntary "social contract" were fictional constructs that did not conform to obvious reality. Hume pointed out, "Almost all the governments which exist at present, or of which there remains any record in history, have been founded originally either on usurpation or conquest or both, without any pretense of a fair consent or voluntary subjection of the people."
- Rawls agreed with Hume that the notion of people living in a "state of nature" and then assembling to enter into a "social contract" were historical fictions. Nevertheless, Rawls believed that we could still make productive use of these concepts by viewing them as theoretical constructs for understanding the nature, purpose, and authority of government and the state. For example, we can pose the question, "If we were living in the 'state of nature' and wanted to enter into an agreement with others to create a social/political community, what kind of social/political system would we create?" For Rawls, the concept of "justice" is necessarily tied to the concept of "fairness." For a society to be truly just, it must be truly fair.
You might also like to view...
The statistical claim about Fs for which a large random sample of Fs provides the strongest evidence...
A. is the one we should find most likely after updating on the evidence B. might still be less probable than an alternative statistical claim after updating on the evidence C. is the one we should find most likely after updating on the evidence if this is the only sample of Fs that has been taken D. is the one that has been the most likely all along
The book of Numbers covers events that take place in the ____________
Fill in the blank(s) with the appropriate word(s).
Two key characteristics of the Aladura Movement are __________
a. animal sacrifice b. charismatic leadership and visionary interpretation of the Christian Bible c. cannibalism d. sympathetic magic e. totemism
Evaluate the following generalization(s), identifying sample, population, attribute of interest, and the extent to which the claims involved are knowable. Consider carefully the size and diversification of the sample and the extent to which the population differs or may differ from the sample; remember, what's important is that the sample be representative.Seventeen percent of Winchell State students intend to pursue careers as computer programmers or analysts. That's what a recent survey of WSU students conducted by psychology major Jack Nafarik shows. Nafarik passed out questionnaires to students who voted in the March student election as they exited from the polling stations in the student union. "The results didn't surprise me," Nafarik said. "The figure may seem fairly high, but
you'd expect that in a technical school like Winchell State." What will be an ideal response?