Original position
The hypothetical forum at which principles of justice are chosen behind a veil of ignorance.
What it commits you to
The original position is a device of representation rather than a historical event: it models what rational agents would choose when they cannot know what they will become. Rawls treats the agreement reached there as the definition of justice, which gives his theory a formal structure most moral theories lack. The obvious objection is that the parties are not real, so their choice is not anyone's.
Which realms lean on this
Philosophy carries the arguments the other four kinds are downstream of — what an agent is, what a person owes, what a rule is for.
philosophy · 8 realms — The Care Weft, The Contractual Court, The Existential Wilds, The Kantian Citadel, The Longview Foundry, The Middle Kingdom, The Pragmatic Wharf, The Sangha Terraces.
Canon that discusses this
modern · 1971
A Theory of Justice
Rawls reconstructs distributive justice as a hypothetical contract made behind a veil of ignorance, and derives two principles — equal basic liberties first, then fair equality of opportunity and the difference principle. Published in 1971 and revised in 1979, it displaced utilitarianism as the default starting point for two decades. The excerpt below paraphrases the passage in section 3 rather than quoting a translation.
modern · 1979
The Imperative of Responsibility (Das Prinzip Verantwortung)
Jonas argues that the ethic of responsibility must take precedence over the ethic of knowledge: the effects of an action are unpredictable, so the burden of proof sits with the actor, not with the critic. German original in 1979; the English translation appeared in 1984, a year after his death.
modern · 2006
Ethics of Care
Held develops the care perspective into a full ethical position and argues against the priority claim of justice: obligations arise inside particular relationships, are partial, and are not derivable from general principles. The book that made partiality respectable in moral theory. The excerpt below paraphrases Held's thesis rather than quoting the 2006 book.
See also
Veil of ignorance
philosophyA device for choosing principles without knowing which position in society you will occupy.
Reasonable rejectability
philosophyThe standard that a principle is unacceptable if someone could reasonably refuse to live under it.
Legitimacy
philosophyThe right to be obeyed, held by a rule or authority rather than by its author.
Symmetry
philosophyThe assumption that no being's interests matter more than another's merely as a matter of fact.