John Rawls Essays (Examples)

John Rawls / Mencius
John Rawls's A Theory of Justice is concerned with distributive rather than retributive justice: there is precious little discussion of crime and punishment in Rawls's magnum opus, but plenty of discussion about equality and fairness. Rawls seems to be embarked on a Kantian ethical project of establishing universal principles, but his chief concern is to establish his principles without requiring, as Kant does, an appeal to God as the ultimate guarantor of the moral necessity of his conclusions. In place of God, Rawls offers a thought experiment, which he calls the "Original Position." The reader is asked to imagine himself or herself before birth, being offered a comprehensive survey of the different types of lives into which he or she could potentially be born. Rawls wants the reader to consider whether the available permissible options in a given society are, in themselves, an existing critique of…

John Rawls' theory…. In his book A Theory of Justice John Rawls offers readers a "Kantian Interpretation" of his "original position," according to an essay in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SAP). First, a review of Rawls' "original position" will set up the explanation of his Kantian link. Rawls posits (in his "original position") that in understanding his philosophy readers should imagine themselves as "…free and equal" and as willing to agree to "commit themselves to the principles of social and political justice" (SAP, p. 1). The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy asserts that the "main distinguishing feature" of Rawls' "original position" is "the veil of ignorance" (SEP, p. 1). hat that means is that in order to be certain there is a total "impartiality of judgment, the parties are deprived of all knowledge of their personal characteristics and social and historical circumstances" (SEP. p. 1).
In the original position (the…

Liberal equality is another principle that was propagated by awls and focuses on the removal of artificial obstacles or man made obstacles as opposed to the natural liberty principles. awls here argues for the removal of inequalities which act as disadvantages to some people and this can be achieved trough giving them a just share of the primary goods the society has to offer. This principle neglects the natural endowments natural disadvantages. Another philosopher, onald Dworkin therefore argues that even if these social primary goods are assembled yet the people with natural disabilities are not given some form of insurance, then they would still be disadvantaged (Matthew Clayton, n.d:8).

The concept of democratic equality deals with liberty and equality. It brings into perspective the basic freedoms and rights like those of speech and assembly among the others. It states that each individual should be accorded these in order to ensure…

John Rawls reworks the theses contained in his previous works with Justice as Fairness: A Restatement. Rawls' political philosophy is a modern formulation, presupposing a democratic foundation, which seeks to define justice as a purely political concept. Because Rawls' previous work, A Theory of Justice, still contained moral arguments, the author here attempts to divest the concept of justice as fairness from its moral underpinnings. Therefore, with Justice as Fairness: A Restatement, Rawls reformulates the basic theories contained within his former works in order to distinguish the political from the moral or philosophical spheres. Justice as Fairness contains elements found in the theories of political philosophers like Locke, Hobbes, Kant, Hegel, and Marx and the book is a compilation of his political philosophy lectures at Harvard in the 1980s. Rawls systematically analyses the idea of justice as a primarily political concept. He then applies this concept to a workable theory…

As Hampton (1997) points out, "By using this argument, awls hopes to persuade readers that he has good reasons for commending his theory as correct, without relying on undefended or ill-defined intuitions" (p. 140).
But is his theory really "correct?" Is it even conceivable to apply awls' principles of egalitarianism to a society in which competition is rampant and 'status' is the permanent engraving on the proverbial brass ring? Moreover, in this increasingly globally connected world, could awls' theory of justice be conceivably functional on an international level? Taking into consideration the idealistic nature of awls' suppositions, combined with the complex list of criteria that would need to be fulfilled in order for his vision to take shape, I would have deny the applicability of awls' philosophies to the 21st century. It is possible that his principles may have worked in the small villages of Colonial New England where communities…

awls and the Just Society
Today's United States society is not just because it violates both principles of John awls' theory of justice based on the "original position." This paper will explain awls' principles and show how the U.S. violates those principles.

awls states that justice is fairness (MacKinnon, Fiala, 2015, p. 78) within the framework of the social contract, which stems back to ousseau (2012, p. 1), who ironically pointed out that "man is born free, yet everywhere is in chains" -- alluding to the fact that in a free society, man ought not to be a made a slave of institutions such as Church, aristocracy or government. This is the "original position" regarding man's natural state, what ousseau and the Enlightenment thinkers believe is not a "fallen state of human nature," but one that is free to assert the "rights of man." These rights were popular at the…

Political Science: John awls
John awls: Political Philosopher

In the Preface to A Theory of Justice, the late philosopher John awls goes beyond what would normally be expected of an author in terms of laying out practical suggestions "to make things easier for the reader," such as noting that his "fundamental intuitive ideas of the theory of justice" are to be found on the first four pages of Chapter I. He also reports that in finishing the final three different versions of manuscript for the book, he passed those versions among "students and colleagues," and that he "benefited beyond estimation from the innumerable suggestions and criticisms" he received.

awls even went to the trouble of mentioning the names of colleagues who had contributed ideas, suggestions and criticisms; and he has delved into the specific changes that those individuals added to his final manuscript. This openness on his part would seem…

Justice, political philosopher John Rawls looks at the idea of social justice and the individual rights of the individual by redefining the last 200+ years of the American experience. In general, he looks at the manner in which the Founding Fathers were correct by basing their views on previous social contract theorists like Locke and Rousseau. For example, there is a clear linkage between John Locke and Rawls that validates the ideas of liberalism within American society. In fact, Rawls notes that the American Experience extended the concept of justice far beyond hat any of the Enlightenment philosophers ever hoped (Rawls, 1957).
Rawls (1921-2002), an American philosopher who focused on moral and political philosophy, believed that the principles of justice are the models that rational individuals who are free would choose as basic ways to cooperate within their society. He called this position the original position, in that it was…

Airbrushing
John Rawls' philosophical theme centers on the topic of "justice as fairness." It's hard not to relate this to one of the growing topics of discussion, namely the importance of digital deception which might well include the idea of airbrushing photos and images. Technology has the capacity today to provide us all with a Veil of Ignorance (Freeman, 2009) that even Rawls did not see coming and one that has the capacity of wiping away the honest elements of rationality and reason that he believes is necessary for people to be able to work together toward a balanced and honest society that works well for everyone.

The issue of airbrushing models or maybe the basic characteristics of those we admire or who are the attention of a public event can mean nothing more than making pictures prettier. This as we know can mean relatively little, or it can lead…

Dworkin's two models are extremes in their own right with regard to individual rights; the first model puts balancing individual rights against other social goals. The second model holds that one should err on the side of individual rights instead of balancing them among a whole society. These two models do not encompass a middle ground of a liberal democracy such as the U.S. when examining the place that individual rights have in a society; always putting individual rights ahead of the needs of society can be just as damaging to ignoring individual rights in favor of the overall needs of society.
The "two models" approach is especially relevant in light of the new threats to national security posed by terrorism and the acceptable ways of not only preventing terror but also of treating the accused in these situations. The dispute over the civil liberties that are available to the…

Utilitarianism
The author of this report is to offer a fairly extensive essay about three general questions relating to utilitarianism. The first question pertains to John awls and his deconstructions of utilitarianism and what came to be known as "the analogy." The second question pertains to the views of Peter Singer as stated and enumerated in Famine, Affluence and Morality. Last up will be Bernard Williams. Like awls, he generally viewed utilitarianism poorly and offers specific examples and explanations of why he did not agree with the subject. For all three questions, there will be a critique or criticism of the overall argument. While cases can be made for both utilitarianism and its opposite, there are some rather gaping holes in the logic that justifies utilitarianism and how it works.

Questions Answered

Of all of the ethical and moral philosophers out there, awls is certainly one of the more notorious…

In order to gain a more complex understanding of Novick's idea of liberty one would actually have to consider the difference principle and the effects it would have on groups of people who managed to differentiate themselves from the masses by becoming productive and by directing their attention toward making profits without hurting anyone or acting in disagreement with rights generally accepted by the social order. Rawls virtually acts in discordance with all that Novick's stands for, as the latter considers freedom as being one of the most important concepts that society has access to.

Novick would certainly be reluctant to accept living in a society where people accept the difference principle and guide themselves in accordance to it. The philosopher's book "Anarchy, State, and Utopia" is practically meant to condemn individuals like Rawls as a result of their ignorance of ideas that are very obvious. It is likely that…

It would strive to minimize the pay and quality-of-life differential between the wealthiest individuals and the poorest, although it would permit whatever differential justified by the greater good served by certain professional commitments and responsibilities.
Rawls' ideas if incorporated into society would not compel any person to contribute to the greater good any more than he or she desired; they would simply impose mechanisms for distributing resources and potential rewards in the most socially beneficial and equitable manner. Industries that produce socially beneficial products and services that contribute to the greater good would be permitted to profit more from those endeavors than superfluous industries; physicians would be entitled to sufficient compensation and benefits to ensure against any shortage of physicians in society; and police officers and firefighters would earn more than professional athletes, although closer to several times the average wage in society instead of the equivalent of hundreds or…

Justice in Society According to awls and Hampshire
This is paper contrasting the political philosophies of awls and Hampshire according o their views in 'Political liberalism' the Law of Peoples' and 'Justice as Conflict'. 4 sources are given.

Very few alternatives to the prevalent utilitarianism, dominant in most of the Western world, have emerged and made any significant impact. The theories of John awls however have made an important contribution to political philosophy and if not unanimously agreed upon they nevertheless have led to a revival in the academic study of political philosophy. His work has provoked debate amongst economists, legal scholars, political scientists, sociologists, and theologians alike. His Theory of Justice and subsequent additions and modifications to this hypothesis in the form of 'Political liberalism' and 'The Law of Peoples' is a comprehensive and detailed proposal that evolved over decades.

The 'Justice as Conflict' theory put forward by another…

rights exist and where they come from can provide a useful approach to thinking about justice. To this end, this paper provides a review of the relevant literature concerning how rights relate to Nozick's entitlement theory of just distribution and how Nozick uses the Wilt Chamberlain example to argue for his preferred view. In addition, a discussion concerning the question of society and natural rights by considering awls' focus on the original position and fairness is followed by an analysis of the applicability of awl's "veil of ignorance" to decision making. Finally, an examination of the possible implications of these two different approaches to justice and economic distribution for a real-world water case study is followed by a summary of the research and important findings concerning these issues in the conclusion.
eview and Discussion

What may have been regarded as just distribution at one point in time may be viewed…

Robert Nozick's Entitlement Theory asserts that free market exchanges are manifestations of society's respect for people as equal -- an economic phenomenon that is given a moral dimension/explanation. This theory is hinged on three principles: transfer principle, acquisition principle, and rectification principle. The first principle holds the argument that all holdings or properties freely acquired from others are considered justly acquired. In the same vein of argument, the second principle posits that people are entitled to have holdings/properties, so long as they are acquired in a just manner. Lastly, an "injustice" committed can be rectified by giving the property back to its rightful owner (i.e., a property unjustly acquired can be corrected by returning it back to the original owner/first owner).

John Rawls' theory of distributive justice contains within its argument the principles of liberty and difference. In his theory, Rawls argues that the principles of justice determine how the…

Social Philosophy
Concluding in Political moderation, in "A Theory of Justice," and in later works, John awls explains a comprehensive, as well as influential theory, which is on the subject of, presenting a theory of justice in concurrence with the liberal-democratic passion that relates to the rights and freedoms of individuals in society. It entails that the rights of the individuals ought to be moderated by various types of clauses, making certain that no social or natural eventualities are overlooked. The theory declares that no inborn benefits of political authority, substance riches or natural capability should irreversibly or overpoweringly establish life chances. Furthermore, more distinctively, these morally subjective issues should not establish the value of political liberties to moral persons (1).

In 1971, awls's explains his first articulation of his theory of justice which highlights on individual abilities that he entitles the "Original Position" and in addition, a model of…

Rawls sets out to propose a new theory, which he does by formulating two principles and "to show that the two principles of justice provide a better understanding of the claims of freedom and equality in a democratic society than the first principles associated with the traditional doctrines of utilitarianism, with perfectionism, or with institutionalism" (Rawls, Political Liberalism 292).

Nozick suggests an entitlement theory of justice that might seem to reflect the categorical imperative but which actually counters Kant's theory of property. John Rawls offered a revision of Kantian theory so it could be used as a grounding in ethical theory. Nozick also shows a strong commitment to prepolitical individual rights. He also recognizes that there are forces, including past injustices, which shape our holdings in society in various ways, raising the question of what ought to be done to rectify these injustices:

The general outlines of the theory of…

This second sense of economic justice for the poor is not found in Cicero, and is expanded upon in Martha Nussbaum's philosophy of the state's role in expanding upon human capabilities, or the capabilities for maximizing one's individual potential.
Rawls' most unique contribution to modern thought is assumed to be his concept of what he calls the veil of ignorance, or the fact that decisions about justice should be calculated by a perfectly objective person, who has no idea whom he or she is affecting when he or she is making decisions about justice in terms of the person's identity, sex, race, and the expansion of economic opportunities. Rationally, all people wish to advance their own interests, but if they no longer know the identity of whom they are advancing, they will act in a perfectly just fashion, including at times redistributing some wealth in the name of expanding opportunities…

social contract would observe the law as well as the institution to enforce that law. y the enforcement of that law, those covered could expect justice to be done to them and everybody else. In times of trouble, such as when burglars or other criminals attack, one could call the police for help. Those covered by the contract need neither to fear such unjust attacks nor to take the law into their own hands. The weak need not fear the strong.
The deal for those covered by the social contract is that they join individual forces and resources with others who also want peace and equality, so that their own goods may not be taken from them unjustly, either. And because there are more people who want their goods and other rights protected than those who want a free-for-all all the time, there would be more people who would join…

Society
The first items addressed in this particular just society are the principles of liberty that shall apply to each individual as well as to the overall society. The first principle of liberty will be the right to an unlimited freedom of speech that will pertain to each and every person. This right will be sacrosanct and will be defended and upheld by all. Assuming that each individual will act in a just manner, this right should permeate throughout society and should be the one right that is held true and steadfast by all.

The second principle of liberty for the proposed just society is the freedom to choose whatever path the individual wishes to travel, as long as that path does not negatively impact others who have chosen different directions. The right to make decisions bears with it the right of responsibility for those decisions. If the individual makes…

It has been shown that the acquisition of talent not an area specific to each individual position at top companies. The highest-performing companies build pools of talent from which they can draw as needed (Michaels et al., 2001). Thus, there will inevitably be talented people who are at times underutilized. Their higher-order needs are not being met and thus they must be generously compensated. Otherwise, when the time comes to move someone from the organization to a fulfilling, higher-order executive position, the talent will not be there.
CEO pay proponents also point out that the bulk of the "excessive" executive compensation comes in the form of stock or options. These instruments were brought into executive compensation packages specifically to align the interests of management with those of the shareholders. It was the shareholders and the boards of directors who initiated this, as a means to protect shareholder wealth. There have…

All organizations and business have some form of ethical culture to carry out their goals, which cannot be inconsistent with the aims of utilitarianism. All organizations aim at the pleasure of achieving or creating something. This line of thought can be strictly infused into the awareness of employees during meetings or seminars. The goals of the theory may also be infused into new employees as part of their orientation. Existing employees may be promoted on the basis of their best contribution to organizational goals and the welfare of fellow employees. These are measurable criteria and a source of motivation to other employees.
The utilitarian theory necessarily states that it is an employee's duty to perform and behave in the best possible way to benefit the business, fellow employees, society and himself or herself. Consequently, he or she has the right to expect the same benefits from the organization, fellow employees,…

" (Shiele, 2006) All of these are important yet they do not address the use of "the worldviews and cultural values of people of color as theoretical bases for new social work practice models" (Shiele, 2006) but instead hold the beliefs that: (1) that only White people - especially White men - have the ability and skill to develop theories and social work practice models; (2) that people of color, specifically African-Americans, lack the ability and skill to develop theories and social work practice models; (3) that the precepts of European-American culture are the primary, if not the only, precepts through which social problems can be analyzed and solved; and/or (4) that culture, and the internalization of culture by the theorist, has little or no effect on theory - that theory or theorizing is mostly or completely an objective activity." (Shiele, 2006)
ibliography

Sohng, S. (2004). A brief overview of…

Under these circumstances, an ethical dilemma is born. Should society control its development or leave it to chance? And in the case that it should control it, which categories should it help?
If the person in the above mentioned example is helped, we could assume that in a certain way, the person who was not helped because he or she already disposed of the necessary means, the latter one might be considered as having been subject to reverse discrimination. Yet we ought to look at the picture from an utilitarian point-of-view. Under these circumstances we might state that society as an overall system has more benefits from helping the categories which are in bigger need of help (for example the ones mentioned in the principles of affirmative action).

ut what are the exact principles of affirmative action: let us take a look at them and analyze them. Title VI, section…

Plato on Justice
he Greek word which Plato uses to mean "justice" -- dike or dikaios -- is also synonymous with law and can also mean "the just"; as Allan Bloom (1991) notes, Plato uses a more specific term -- dikaiosyne -- in the Republic, which means something more like "justice, the virtue" (p. 442). Gregory Vlastos (1981) goes even further to note that, with Plato's very vocabulary for these concepts of justice, "the sense is so much broader: they could be used to cover all which is morally right" (p. 111). his terminology links it with justice as it would be conceived within Plato's theory of forms, and Dominic Scott (2006) notes that -- following that theory -- this introduces "another connotation of virtue" as being "a genus of which such qualities as justice, courage, temperance and wisdom are species" (p. 14). Slippage of terminology seems to be looming…

Philosophy and Justice
Social Philosophies

A Theory of Justice by John awls

Quite a number of books and articles were published by John awls, a philosopher that held the James Bryant Conant University Professorship at Harvard University. He is, however, mainly famous for his book 'a Theory of Justice' where he attempts to define social justice. The work has tremendously impacted contemporary political views.

awls was discontented with the traditional philosophical claims regarding what actually makes a social institution just and regarding what justifies social or political policies and actions. The utilitarian claim maintains that societies ought to follow the greatest good for the greatest number. This claim has several issues, such that it appears to be coherent with the belief of the domination of majorities over the minorities. The intuitionist claim maintains that human beings feel what is actually right or wrong through some natural moral sense. This is…

He believes that social and economic inequalities should be arranged so that they are both to the greatest benefit to the least advantaged and that offices and positions of authority be open to all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity (Piccard).
Rawls contends that in order for distributive justice to work social and economic process must exist under suitable political and economic institutions. He calls for the establishment of four background institutions or branches, in the government to ensure equity of justice. The allocation branch ensures that the pricing system is competitive and that no individual or corporation forms unreasonable market power. The stabilization branch endeavors to bring about reasonably full employment opportunities for those that want to work. The transfer branch guarantees a certain level of well-being. Finally, the distribution branch strives to preserve an approximate justice in distributive shares by means of taxation and the necessary adjustments…

Amartya Sen, a noted scholar in the world of philosophical discussions and interpretations, is presenting counter arguments to John Rawls' approach to a theory of justice. In the process, Sen is also trying to cement his own approach to a theory of justice. He argues that asking, "hat is a just society?" is wasteful and rather, serious thinkers should "concentrate on comparative questions of justice" (Sen, 236). The philosopher thus opens the door to a discussion of what should bright, thinking people expect and desire from a theory of justice, which is likely what Sen intended, beyond tooting his own philosophical horn. Sen begins his article by referencing what he finds difficult to accept within iconic philosopher Rawls' view of justice.
The nuts and bolts of what Sen is arguing comes down to his departure from Rawls' theory of justice, not only the "substantive contend of the Rawlsian theory of…

Stock
Leader

Does Having a New Black President

Make it Easier for Minorities to Advance to Leadership Roles in Business?

"Excuse me, sir. I'm looking for the Color Line. ould you know where I can find it?" (Miller)

The United States has made great strides in regard to minority relations by electing its first black president. By today's standard, minority entails many different things such as classifying by nationality, race, religious preference, physical disability, gender or sexual preference. Throughout history, there have been many great leaders who came from their respective minority groups. For example, few people are aware of the fact that the Roman Empire had black emperors and even less know that one of them, Septimius Severus, through his legislative changes to military pay scales and community control laws, may not only have been the greatest black emperor, he may actually have been the most influential Roman emperor…

Sustainability in Pharmaceuticals Industry
Ethical Pricing in the Pharmaceutical Industry

The reality of medicine if the modern era is that resources must be allocated to help support the development of new pharmaceutical and in turn, there must also be a way to compensate those who devote their resources to help cure some of the preventable diseases that plague the modern age. The moral issue at stake here is distributive justice, and Rawls' framework is especially germane since it underlines the material benefits everyone deserves as Kantian persons and the need for an egalitarian approach for the distribution of society's essential commodities such as health care; the concern for distributive justice should be a critical factor in the equation of variables used to set prices for pharmaceuticals (Spinello, 1992).

For example, the question of how humanity delivers on a social scale that advances that humanity makes is among one of the…

geniuses, history will never even be aware that most people even lived at all, much less that their lives had any real purpose, meaning or worth. All ideas of human equality and natural rights are just pious little myths and fables, since only a handful will ever have the talent and intelligence to be recognized as standing out from the anonymous masses. This world is a very cruel and Darwinian place in which only a handful achieve success and recognition, at least by the material and monetary standards that the capitalist system values so highly. In short, the majority of people who ever lived have simple been drones and worker bees, and if they have any talents or worth, few will ever notice them outside of their narrow little spheres of existence. Many people may have certain natural talents but make little effort to develop them, and through bad luck…

Introduction Several theorists have used social contract theory to understand the government’s role in taking care of the public and addressing the public’s needs. Current political issues offer further examination of social contract theory and how it may help with understanding government obligation and public participation. Rousseau's social contract theory is best and most relevant for understanding and offering solutions to contemporary political issues like mandatory vaccination, taxation, and universal healthcare because it offers a foundation from which to explain the perceived obligations of both the government and the public. Rousseau’s version of social contract theory contrasted against other theorists like Hobbes's and Locke's social contact theories demonstrates how one interpretation of a theory may be better suited for modern political issues over others.
According to social contract theory via Locke’s interpretation, when the government remains unsuccessful in securing natural rights or fulfilling society’s best interest often recognized as the…

esearch reveals that those who kill white victims are much more likely to receive the death penalty than those who kill black victims. One study found that for similar crimes committed by similar defendants, blacks received the death penalty at a 38% higher rate than all others (Dieter, 1998).
It is significant to note that the death penalty is more likely to be imposed on men than woman. Death sentences and actual executions for female offenders are rare in comparison to such events for male offenders. Woman account for 10% of the murder arrests, 2% of the death sentences imposed at the trial level, 1.7% of the persons presently on death row, and 1% of the persons actually executed since 1973 (Streib, 2010).

States vary enormously in the quality of representation they provide to indigent defendants. The quality of legal representation is related to the arbitrary application of the death…

The question is, how does one decide which path is more beneficial?
John Stuart Mill in Utilitarianism in the Philosophy of J.S. Mill, raised similar concerns when he stated:

"…any, even unintentional, deviation from truth does that much toward weakening the truth-worthiness of human assertion, which is not only the principal of all present social well-being but the insufficiency of which does more than any one thing that can be named to keep back civilization, virtue, everything on which human happiness on the largest scale depends" (p. 349).

Considering that human happiness is a subjective commodity that varies for every individual in its "truth," then whether or not one perceives the mommy track trend to be in line with utilitarian principles ultimately depends on one's personal definition of the greater good. From the utilitarian perspective (i.e. Mill), the wishes of the individual must be forsaken for the long-term "big picture."…

same-sex marriage. This subject interests me from both a moral and a legal standpoint. The topic has gained national as well as global attention. The debate is especially heated in the United States where the matter is being decided on a state by state basis.
The essential question that surrounds this topic is if same-sex marriage good for society. The ongoing debate over same-sex marriage often generates more heat than light as there are people who feel very strongly about the issues involved on both sides of the argument. This debate cannot be ignored, as legislators and voters around the country wrestle with whether and how to recognize same-sex relationships.

Almost two decades ago William Bennett and Andrew Sullivan argued this issue. Sullivan (1996) asserted that forbidding same-sex partners to marry prevents them from being a full and equal part of America and forces these couples to lie or hide…

Individuality and Community
Ethics

How Self is Integrated into the Global Whole as an Ethical Entity

The ethics of social justice is wrapped in the ideas of how individuals within a society are trained as ethical beings, and how they regard other outside of their immediate society (Jackson, 2005). Appiah uses the final two chapters of his book The Ethics of Identity to discuss how individuals are given an ethical soul and also how people are members of something larger than either their nations or themselves. This paper is designed to give the reader an understanding of one person's understanding of the four concepts of social justice, soul making and rooted cosmopolitanism, and how all of those concepts tie into one another.

Four Conceptions of Social Justice

Like most other concepts, social justice is not the purview of a single theoretician or set of ideas. Many people, beginning in ancient…

Justice is a concept that has attracted the use of various terms by several philosophers in efforts to explain it. Based on the accounts of various philosophers, justice is a term that means equitable, fair, and suitable treatment depending on what is owed or due to individuals. Justice is an important concept in the criminal justice system and the modern society because it is applied in cases where people are owed burdens or benefits since their respective conditions are harmed by another individual's acts. The concept of justice has also been explained by various theories, which contain principles that are used in the application of justice.
Explanation of the Theory of Justice

The theory of justice is a concept that is centered on the enforcement of two essential principles of justice that would contribute to a just and morally upright society. John awls introduced the theory of justice as fairness…

Both of these perspectives are, from Hart's perspective, too extreme: he wants a legal theory which would be free from moral evaluations or moral commitments (unlike Finnis' approach), while remaining a descriptive theory of the practice rather than a participation in it (unlike Dworkin's approach). Hart was trying to keep a difficult middle position (Hacker, 1977-page 31). He argued that a legal theory should be constructed around the perspective of someone who accepted the legal system, but the theory itself (or, to put the matter differently, the theorist herself) need not, and should not, endorse the system (as one which is generally just or which creates binding moral obligations). In other words, the theory simultaneously:
(1) attempts to take into account the participant's perspective; and (2) manages to choose among possible participants' perspectives without having to make moral judgments; while

(3) keeping sufficient distance from the participants' perspective to allow…

Ethics of Human Cloning
In 1971, Nobel Prize winning-scientist James atson wrote an article warning about the growing possibility of a "clonal man." Because of both the moral and social dangers cloning posed to humankind, atson called for a worldwide ban on any research leading to cloning technology (atson 8).

Until then, cloning had been largely relegated to the realm of science fiction. Scientific research concerning cloning and in vitro fertilization was obtuse and technical, and hardly written about in the news. atson, however, was a highly-respected scientist, a Harvard professor famous for his discovery of the double helix structure of the DNA. The article he wrote sparked an intense debate over cloning, a debate that was renewed with the 1996 birth of Dolly the lamb, the first cloned mammal.

The argument no longer centers on whether cloning is possible, but on whether cloning is ethical. This paper examines the…

Ethical Philosophies
Sometimes, when faced with a situation within murky ethical waters, there are difficult decisions to make. This is not made easier by the various philosophical outlooks available today, some of which would provide contradictory advice. The ethics of Emmanuel Kant, John Stuart Mill, John awls, and Aristotle might, for example provide widely different viewpoints on whether a charitable donation should be accepted from a business person whose main income is from selling drugs. Ultimately, the choice lies with the individual, and the main question must be whether the person who accepts the donation can reasonably live with the final decision he or she makes.

According to Johnson (2010), Kant's categorical imperative focuses on the command and action, divorcing the action from premeditated or related goals. It applies unconditionally to the imperative to engage in action such as leaving something alone or taking something. This can be applied to…

law was the States' Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act. This was a part of the 113th Congress which ran from 2013 to 2014. The law itself will be analyzed. The stakeholders of the law will be looked at based on the points-of-view that they possess. The factors contributing to the creation of the law will be looked at. The types of data that the author of this report gathered to analyze the healthcare and the gaps in the data will be assessed. The cost, quality, access of healthcare on diverse populations and ethical principles will be assessed as it relates to the law. A total of four the following, those being Saint Thomas Aquinas, Immanuel Kant, John Stuart Mill, John awls, Aristotle, Thomas Buber, Lawrence Kohlberg and Viktor Frankl, will be selected and this law will be assessed from their perspectives. The analysis will end up with a personal viewpoint…

Health Care ight or Privilege
Health Care ight Privilege

Whether health care is a right or a privilege is one of the most intensely debated social questions of the modern era, but phrasing it in this binary way of one or the other masks a deeper problem that is far more complex. The specific issue at hand is the rationing of scarce medical resources. If there were unlimited resources where everyone could achieve the maximum health all the time, we would not have to ask the question, but this is clearly not the case. Glannon argues this requires a theory of "distributive justice" (2005, p. 144), and outlines the four main theories that have emerged from the modern discussion, which are Utilitarian / consequentialist, Libertarian, Communitarian and Egalitarian.

Utilitarian, consequentialist theory is often invoked toward a solution of who deserves health care when there is not enough for everyone, and…

There are several ways that BP could have chosen to respond, all of which were "open" to them (i.e. they had free will), yet those chose to take paths that were less moral. Kant's universal law would have them put their responsibility to humanity as the motivator, however, their motives have not proven to be driven by doing what is genuinely good for humanity.
Blackburn (2009) states that it is tricky to apply the categorical imperative and that the most persuasive examples of it being effective are in cases where there is an institution whose existence depends on sufficient performance by a sufficient number of individuals.

Suppose, as is plausible, that our ability to give and receive promises depends upon general compliance with the principle of keeping promises. Were we to break them sufficiently often, or were promise-breaking to become a 'law of nature,' then there would be no such…

College a right or a privilege
For a long time majority of colleges took themselves to exist in place of a parent, and evinced a worry with the development of characters of their students. A geared up acknowledgement had long been in place that college education was a privilege, but not a right, and that individuals who enjoyed it were obligated to others. In addition a strong element of paternalism existed and it was extensively considered that college administrators and professors in particular as well as adults in general, had better knowledge of what was good for a student than the student himself. Role of taking place of parents later came to an end. Dormitory life regulations were relaxed, as the same applied generally to regulation of campus life, as well as of the curriculum. Majority of professors came to realize their function as tutor in their subject, without meddlesome…

This is a contractual obligation, as money has been received for a certain service.
This is closely related to the third obligation in the model, which is "duty to the organization." The press has an obligation to provide the public with a wide variety of viewpoints in order to ensure public debate and accurate information. If a certain piece of information is withheld from the public as a result of its controversial content, this constitutes unfair censorship. The general principle of the press is to promote knowledge rather than censorship. Hence, information that could cause disagreement should not be withheld on those grounds alone.

On the other hand, the press in general also has a duty to society in terms of providing accurate information. The advertisement is in direct opposition to generally accepted facts regarding slavery. Hence publishing it on the strength merely of publishing whatever opinion is paid for…

Virtue Ethics
This ethical philosophy draws back from the thought and work of the ancient and great Greek philosopher Aristotle (rown, 2001; SPI, n.d.; Fahey, 2010). The philosophy centers on persons who are moral agents themselves, rather than from their actions or their consequences. A person lives an ethical or the good life if he possesses a right character, also know as virtues. As such he possesses a moral character, according to the philosophy. These character traits or virtues include courage, temperance, justice, wisdom, patience, generosity and compassion. y observing or living by this philosophy, a person develops good habits that build and make up his character. ecause of such a character, he is naturally disposed to act in a certain moral or virtuous way towards situations and persons. He or she does not possess undesirable or vicious traits of character (rown, SPI. Fahey).

The main objections to this philosophy…

An understanding of the facts,
2. An understanding of the codes, roles and values at play,

3. A consideration of all alternatives,

4. A consideration of how you would feel if the plan/action was implemented,

5. A projection of consequences, and

6. A consideration of how you would justify your actions to the public.

arnard also develop a construct called, "moral basis for the solution of moral conflicts." In applying this construct to the police officer's situation, arnard suggests opening up to the co-workers/subordinates to tell them the rationale behind the decision and writing a letter to management perhaps discussing how your role is really an expanded version with duties to the subordinates along with duties and allegiance toward management.

Another potential conflict is within one's self and one's inner values. There might be conflicts between private goals and public goals or between objective and subjective responsibility. Tussman notes that…

In principle, Dworkin argues that the truth is always knowable for any given factual circumstances; the difficulty is that the human intellect is imperfect. In the same way, there is a finite number of individual particles of sand on the earth at any moment in time. Human intellect and capabilities are incapable of determining that precise number; it would require a hypothetically limitless intellectual capacity. Judge Hercules possesses that infinite intelligence and also has the luxury of infinite time for contemplation. Dworkin suggests that Judge Hercules would always make the right decision and that the role of human judges is simply to aspire to be as Hercules-like as possible. Dworkin's Judge Hercules is very similar to John Rawls' allegory about the veil of ignorance that he uses to illustrate the meaning of objective justice.
Principle vs. Policy

To explain the importance of valuing principle over policy in the construct and…

Tourism Attraction Ethics
Extensive international travel even amidst the growing incidence of terrorism, accidents and disease give rise to various types of ethical concerns, which are normally not taken, into consideration by the present day tourism industry. The ethical concerns associated with travel involve health, safety and accessibility and also includes the detection of individual and institutional duties, informed sanction, eventuality preparation, disaster response mechanisms, fairness and unbiased treatment. The government agencies, professional associations and other such institutions have all strived to devise successful plans to address health safety and accessibility challenges cropping out due to the rapidly expanding international travel. The State Department of U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization provides worthy resources in respect of public safety information; however, political considerations most of the times challenge accuracy and credibility. (Ethics Challenges: Health, Safety and Accessibility in International Travel and Tourism)

The Health and…

) (Stevenson, 1972). Certainly, in a world in which moral ambiguity is commonplace, a framework or reference for moral analysis is relevant and necessary -- particularly as we begin to include concepts from other societies.
Clearly, Sandel is more readable for the modern audience. Despite dealing with some very serious topics, he does so in a manner that is approachable for the lay reader. His greatest gift, though, is making the complex issues of philosophy (e.g. metaphysics, communitarianism, existentialism, etc.) relevant to issues that are current and impact our lives. For example, humans have debated the concept of right motives since before Aristotle. Aristotle's concept of justice and relationship to teleology, though, can be quite complex. Sandel uses the children's classic Winnie the Pooh to illustrate that it was justice to get the honey. Pooh had no realization that the bees might need or want the honey, or that other…

Markel's "Toward a Sense Ethics Technical Communication" McBride's "An Ethical Imperative
There has been significant research into the notion of ethics in technical communication. A vast majority of that research points towards a deontological approach as serving this profession best. Due to the nature of their occupation, however, technical communicators are severely limited in the amount of ethical behavior they can manifest.

The three articles reviewed in this document are Alicia McBride's "Towards a Sense of Ethics for Technical Communication," Gary Stout and Earl Weiss's "Ethics, gen Y style," and Mike Markel's "An Ethical Imperative for Technical Communications." The primary motif that ties all three of these articles together is the fact that they all address various issues of ethical thought and behaviors within the work environment. Weiss and Stout's article reinforces the need for ethical standards within the corporate world of accounting. This article details five theories of ethical…

Justice in Society
What does justice in society really mean?

"It's not fair." One of the first phrases every child articulates clearly relates to a kind of a rough philosophy of justice. This sentiment reflects the idea that because people are not being treated 'the same' the world is unjust. A child may regard the fact that older siblings get to go to bed later as unfair. However, as rough and crude as a child's logic of justice may seem, underlying its assumptions are some of the concepts that relate to a larger sense of justice, namely the issue of equitable treatment. For a society to be just, there must be efforts to create social and economic parity to ensure that the nation's political and judicial systems truly honor such principles of equity.

One concept of equalizing to create justice is that of "John awls' alternative distributive principle, which he…

NOZICK'S ENTITLEMENT THEOY
obert Nozick's Entitlement theory is mainly connected with the issue of property and transfer of property but it is essentially based on the issue of Justice and how it comes into question when property is being transferred or owned. Nozick believes that property rights need to be studied in the social context to understand how transfer and owning of property can give rise to the issue of justice within the society. He believes that when a property that was previously not owned by anyone is transferred to someone and an individual becomes the owner of that piece of land, it is the duty of the government to ensure that no one is left worse off due to this transaction. This is the Libertarian view of property rights and was previously raised by some important thinkers including Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas. ousseau and Bentham also touched upon the…

Justice and Good
The concept of what justice is and what constitutes a good life vary from jurist to jurist and thinker to thinker. HLA Hart is one of the most well-known jurists to come up with a concept of law that was widely acclaimed but was aggressively challenged as well. In hid masterpiece, The Concept of Law, Hart recognizes the legal system as the "combination of primary rules of obligation with the secondary rules of recognition, change and adjudication" (Hart, p. 98). Hart maintains that law is a combination of primary and secondary rules which serve as "not only the heart of a legal system but a most powerful tool for the analysis of much that has puzzled both the jurist and the political theorist" (Hart, p. 98). Hart is of the view that law as we exercise it is the sum or the system of rules. He takes…

TANF Time Limits
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF for short, is one of the more controversial and maligned or one of the most lauded and touted social safety net programs in the United States. Whether it is praised or denigrated depends a lot on who is doing the talking and what their motivations are. TANF has turned in a political football on a scale that dovetails quite nicely with the words of awls (1985) when it was noted in an essay of that author that there are sometimes periods (some of them quite long in duration) that are bereft and full of political divisiveness and vitriol (awls, 1985).

History of TANF & its Predecessor

A bulk of the TANF program is to provide cash-based payments to needy families who are living in destitution or are otherwise in stark financial peril and how those funds are allocated, to…

Mark and Rawls
Karl Marx: Capitalist Society is Exploitative and Alienating

The Communist Manifesto characterizes capitalism as exploitative and alienating by pointing to three primary features. The Manifesto identifies the role of industrialization and technological advances, the commodification of the individual laborer, and the profit derived by some members of society not from their own labor but that of others. (Marx, 68-72) Capitalist society's tendency to produces classes of people who are either members of the bourgeoisie or proletariat, and the remnants of the aristocracy is itself seen as problematic. In Marx's attack of the bourgeoisie, he links the capitalist process itself to their own downfall. He writes "what the bourgeoisie therefore produces above all is their own grave diggers." (Marx, 79). This overly dramatic sentence and indeed the chapter can be viewed as a bit of propaganda or an act of psychological warfare against Marx's critics, but what it…

Criminal Justice Policy Practice Determine Morality
Higher Than Utilitarianism

The passing and reformation of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, also known as the so-called "crack law," is one of the most controversial pieces of legislation to be considered within the criminal justice system and its policy during the past two years. There are several aspects of this legal mandate that present a plethora of interesting situations and questions in regards to the morality of this particular issue, which has been at the forefront of mass media outlets ever since there were significant amendments passed to it in 2010. Interestingly enough, a fair amount of those changes may be attributed to the notion of morality revolving around this legal code, which was largely responsible for the rapid and prolonged imprisonment of minorities -- particularly African-Americans and Latino offenders. One of the most efficacious means of determining whether such a law may be…

Mill believed that any act may itself be inherently moral, so long as the outcome of that action produces a benign effect. Mill believed that the most ethical act is that which produces the most good, even if the act itself is one which is traditionally considered evil. An example of utilitarian philosophy would include the killing of innocent animals to determine a cure for some infectious disease. And while there are components of this philosophy that would certainly align with Aristotle's definition of ethics, it seems difficult to picture the latter condoning any method to achieve moral behavior, particularly in regards to the following quotation from Nichomachean Ethics. "A man will not live like that by virtue of his humanness, but by virtue of some divine thing within him. His activity is as superior to the activity of the other virtues as this divine thing is to his composite…

Please see "Stake Holder: The Taliban" for more information regarding virtue ethics.
The farmers who are growing poppy plants have a logical stake in this moral dilemma as well. If their crops are destroyed they will have no alternative but to join the Taliban to help settle their debts. They are in a precarious position where they are often forced to grow poppies because they are a very lucrative and traditional cash crop. Their history and culture will be severely affected if their livelihood is destroyed as well. If they functioned as utilitarians, the farmers would look for another alternative to growing poppies or perhaps request a government subsidy since their poppy production kills millions worldwide who abuse their drugs. The farmers likely do not have access to this information however, which makes their position even harder to justify.

Stakeholder:

The Afghan People

Utilitarianism- Principle. See "Stakeholder: The United States…