Justice for All in a Rawlsian State John Rawls has been criticized by many for ignoring the issue of cognitive and physical disabilities when constructing his Theory of Justice. In this paper, I do not aim to discredit Rawls standpoint, but instead I will discuss numerous counter arguments to Rawls theory, and then offer what I deem as possible solutions to the issue of disability in a society that is based upon Rawls views.
A. Rawls Views I will break the next section into subsections of what I see as the main basic views Rawls carries in Justice As Fairness. Each subsection will end with the issues I believe arises for those with disabilities according to that view.
Society as a fair cooperative system and the elements of justice It …show more content…
First, people participating in societal cooperation are assumed to have a capacity to conceptualize what is considered “good” in a society. These conceptions have to be created in which others could potentially accept them, or at least not rationally refute them. Or they must at least of a plan for their lives to take based on their individual goals that prompts them to participate in the cooperation of society and the resources to achieve their end means. Second, the citizens cooperating all have about the same physical and cognitive mental skills. This circumstance is also known as the equality condition. Lastly, the citizens will “fully cooperating” over the course of their adult lives. These citizens would be the participants in the mutual advantage that stems from the social cooperation. According to Rawls, all of these conditions are necessary in order for each member of society to live an acceptable …show more content…
This statement may be ambiguous in the sense that a loose reading could say it does include the mentally disabled because it does not state that they will have the exact same skills. Therefore, the function of society would not be impossible if the majority was not cognitively impaired. However, a strict reading of that stipulation could assume that justice does not apply to those with disabilities, who stray from the average. This condition shouldn 't even be considered a circumstance, though, since social cooperation is clearly possible in societies that operate under different mental conditions.If Rawls stipulations of justice depend on the “knowledge of what is good” and the demand for similar mental capacities in a society, we should alter this demand since it isn 't realistic when forming principles to include the
A. Rawls Views I will break the next section into subsections of what I see as the main basic views Rawls carries in Justice As Fairness. Each subsection will end with the issues I believe arises for those with disabilities according to that view.
Society as a fair cooperative system and the elements of justice It …show more content…
First, people participating in societal cooperation are assumed to have a capacity to conceptualize what is considered “good” in a society. These conceptions have to be created in which others could potentially accept them, or at least not rationally refute them. Or they must at least of a plan for their lives to take based on their individual goals that prompts them to participate in the cooperation of society and the resources to achieve their end means. Second, the citizens cooperating all have about the same physical and cognitive mental skills. This circumstance is also known as the equality condition. Lastly, the citizens will “fully cooperating” over the course of their adult lives. These citizens would be the participants in the mutual advantage that stems from the social cooperation. According to Rawls, all of these conditions are necessary in order for each member of society to live an acceptable …show more content…
This statement may be ambiguous in the sense that a loose reading could say it does include the mentally disabled because it does not state that they will have the exact same skills. Therefore, the function of society would not be impossible if the majority was not cognitively impaired. However, a strict reading of that stipulation could assume that justice does not apply to those with disabilities, who stray from the average. This condition shouldn 't even be considered a circumstance, though, since social cooperation is clearly possible in societies that operate under different mental conditions.If Rawls stipulations of justice depend on the “knowledge of what is good” and the demand for similar mental capacities in a society, we should alter this demand since it isn 't realistic when forming principles to include the