If the original position's epistemic constraints logically entail utilitarian choice, Rawls cannot stipulate non-utilitarian outcomes without abandoning the contractarian derivation.

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Reasons For

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Reason for

1.The veil of ignorance logically forces rational agents to maximize expected utility by eliminating personal bias and information asymmetry.
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2.If contractarian legitimacy depends on what choice procedures entail, Rawls cannot override procedural outputs without undermining the contractarian basis.
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3.Rawls's actual endorsement of non-utilitarian principles suggests either the epistemic constraints don't entail utilitarianism or he abandoned derivational rigor.
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Reasons Against

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Reason against

1.The original position's constraints are stipulated by Rawls to exclude utilitarian reasoning; veil ignorance doesn't determine choice independently of design.
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2.Contractarian legitimacy can rest on the fairness of the procedure itself rather than logical entailment, permitting stipulated non-utilitarian outcomes.
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3.Rawls's non-utilitarian conclusions follow from correctly modeling rational choice under lexical priority constraints, not abandoning contractarian derivation.
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Key Terms

Contractarian derivation(as Rawls's method for proving his theory of justice): A method of proving what's right by showing it comes from an imaginary agreement or contract that free people would make together (the 'contract' being the rules people choose in the original position).
Epistemic constraints(modifications added to the basic logical system): Limitations or requirements based on what we can know or believe; these are restrictions on what counts as reasonable or justified statements.
Rawls(as the philosopher whose ideas are being referenced): John Rawls, a 20th-century philosopher famous for developing theories about justice and fairness in society.
Stipulate(used to describe making an assumption): To assume or declare something for the sake of argument, even if it's not true in real life—like saying 'let's pretend Russell was a playwright' for this discussion.
Utilitarian choice(as the outcome that the original position supposedly requires): A decision made according to utilitarianism, a philosophy that says the right action is whatever produces the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.
logically entail(describing logical relationships between ideas): To necessarily follow from something; if A logically entails B, then B must be true whenever A is true.
original position(Rawls's device for deriving principles of justice through impartial rational choice.): A hypothetical deliberative situation in which parties choose principles of justice without knowledge of their particular place in society.

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Social Contract1 linked Justice & Punishment1 linked

Contractarian legitimacy can rest on the fairness of the procedure itself rather...If contractarian legitimacy depends on what choice procedures entail, Rawls cann...

Details

Type: claim
Perspectives: 2 (1 for, 1 against)
Edits: 1 edit