Justification by Reflective Equilibrium
Famously, John Rawls is regarded as using reflective equilibrium (RE) to justify his principles of justice. But the point of justification by RE in Rawls's more recent work is not easily established since he regards his own work as still contractarian. In order to clarify matters, I distinguish between wide and narrow RE, as well as show that wide RE consists of several kinds of narrow RE: RE as a plea for (re)consideration, RE as a constructive procedure of choice, and safe ground RE. The connection of these REs is shown in order to reach justification. The point of introducing RE for justification is seen in opening the range of possible revisions to allow for consensus. However, (the lack of) wide RE for itself is not enough to bring about revision. Rather, an additional causal link between two kinds of RE is proposed to be necessary.
1. Famously, John Rawls uses the method of reflective equilibrium (RE) to justify his principles of justice. (1) But the point of justification by RE in Rawls's more recent work is not that easy to establish, since he regards his own work still as contractarian. Accordingly, it is peoples', citizens', or rational deciders' acceptance of the basic notions, methods, and results of Rawls's framework at its different stages (2) that is to establish his Justice as Fairness. Since every single one of us supposedly has already accepted a moral view of the world, though not the same one, it is in the end with regard to that moral view of the world, (3) or in Rawls's terms, that comprehensive theory of the good, (4) that the principles of justice have to be justified. (5) From the point of view of every one of us who reads Rawls's work or from the point of vi...
... middle of paper ...
...iversity Press.
Gibbard, Allan (1992): Wise Choices, Apt Feelings. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press.
Kersting, Wolfgang (1996): "Spannungsvolle Rationalitätsbegriffe in der Philosophie von John Rawls", in: Apel/Kettner (1996), pp. 227 - 265.
Korsgaard, Christine (1996): The Sources of Normativity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Rawls, John (1971): A Theory of Justice. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press.
Rawls, John (1993): Political Liberalism. New York NY: Columbia University Press.
Scanlon, Thomas (1982): "Contractualism and Utilitarianism", in: Sen/Williams, pp. 103 - 128.
Sidgwick, Henry (1907): The Methods of Ethics. 7th ed. London: Macmillan and Co.; reprint: Indianapolis: Hackett, 1981.
Steinfath, Holmer (1997): "Wertungen und Wertungsrevisionen: Zur Rolle höherstufiger nonkognitiver Einstellungen in Wertungen" (Ms.).
In the piece “Cinema/Ideology/Criticism,” Jean Luc-Comolli and Jean Narboni define the critic's job as the discernment of “which films, books and magazines allow the ideology a free, unhampered passage, transmit it with crystal clarity, serve as its chosen language” and which films “attempt to make it turn back and reflect itself, intercept it, make it visible by revealing its mechanisms, by blocking them” (753). Through their examination, seven film categories are outlined. Clue falls into the “E” category, which is defined as “films which seem at first sight to belong firmly within the ideology and to be completely under its sway, but which turn out to be so only in an ambiguous manner” (75...
Cahn, Steven M. and Peter Markie, Ethics: History, Theory and Contemporary Issues. 4th Edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.
Stanley, Robert H. The Movie Idiom: Film as a Popular Art Form. Illinois: Waveland Press, Inc. 2011. Print
Imagine that rational actor X has been charged with the responsibility of developing the guiding principles for a totaly new type of social contract for today’s society. Is there a way for actor X to perform this task in a truly equitable manner? Consider that “with respect to any complex mater of deep human importance there is n o ‘innocent eye’ —no way of seeing the world that is entirely neutral and free of cultural shaping.” 1 As an entrenched member of a particular culture the complete removal of personal biases and prejudices from within the human psyche is not possible; nonetheless, it would of course be necessary to take steps to at least minimize their effects. In his 1971 book, A Theory of Justice , John Rawls suggests that exactly this type of reduction is possible by figuratively stepping behind a ‘veil of ignorance’ int o what he labels the ‘original position’ —this paper is an introduction to the contractarian thinking of John Rawls and its relation to the original position as expressed in his 1971 book, A Theory of Justice.
When the Treaty of Versailles was finalised and given to the German government to sign there was no other option other than to sign the document and accept its terms because militarily Germany was no longer strong enough to resist. From the beginning of its life the Weimar republic had to battle a reputation as the November criminals because one of the first actions the government took when they were elected into power was to sign the Treaty of Versailles. This was partially due to the War Guilt clause, it contained which stated that Germany were wholly responsible for the outbreak of the war which went against the public’s opinion that this was a defensive war. The main reason that the signing of the treaty was debilitating from the start was because it made the government responsible for the German defeat rather than an actual military defeat. Throughout the war in Germany propaganda had been optimistic in its defeat of the enemy and it came as a shock to the public when the announcement came about that they had lost the war. It was a firmly held belief that the military had not been defeated; instead they had been stabbed in the back by the new government. This...
The credit for establishing the early parole system goes to Alexander Maconochie who was in charge of the English penal colony at Norfolk Island, off the coast of Australia and Sir Walter Crofton, director of Ireland’s prisons.
Coming into this course I had no idea what I was getting myself into. It was simply the description of Dr. Bernard’s syllabus that held me interested and wanting to learn more. I was never a big movie follower, so I thought it would be interesting to see some of the films that do hold enormous fan based festivals and conventions. Throughout the past several weeks I have not only experience many films that I have not seen before, but I also gained the knowledge of the meaning behind what a cult film is. In the first few weeks we went over the concept of “cult” and how it is usually done in sets of different types of rituals. The likings and awareness of and for these cult films are relatively small in size due to it’s opposition to mainstream. Cult films have many different spins and twists to them, therefore they come with special followings and groups.
Mathijs, Ernest, and Jamie Sexton. "Chapter 6." Cult Cinema. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011. N. pag. Print.
In recent times, such stereotyped categorizations of films are becoming inapplicable. ‘Blockbusters’ with celebrity-studded casts may have plots in which characters explore the depths of the human psyche, or avant-garde film techniques. Titles like ‘American Beauty’ (1999), ‘Fight Club’ (1999) and ‘Kill Bill 2’ (2004) come readily into mind. Hollywood perhaps could be gradually losing its stigma as a money-hungry machine churning out predictable, unintelligent flicks for mass consumption. While whether this image of Hollywood is justified remains open to debate, earlier films in the 60’s and 70’s like ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ (1967) and ‘Taxi Driver’ (1976) already revealed signs of depth and avant-garde film techniques. These films were successful as not only did they appeal to the mass audience, but they managed to communicate alternate messages to select groups who understood subtleties within them.
However, it can be argued that the definition of ‘cult’ could simply mean ‘a set of controversial films standing up against the norm of mainstream Hollywood conformity.’ Films that do not have a particular interest in good taste or facts, and films that sometimes, don’t even have a message to send. One thing is for certain however, it celebrates the weird and wonderful, as well as prides itself at being politically and culturally non-confirmative.
I will begin this paper by making clear that this is a critique of Rawls and his difference principle and not an attempt at a neutral analysis. I have read the Theory of Justice and I have found it wanting in both scope and realism. The difference principle proposed by Rawls, his second principle is the focus of my critique. While this paper will not focus solely on the second principle, all analysis done within this essay are all targeted towards the scope of influence that Rawls treats the second principle with.
Distributive justice requires the philosophical powers of reflection of the greatest theorists. In order to solve certain social issues, the most pragmatic solution must be concocted carefully to solve the biggest loopholes. Michael Walzer is no stranger to the complexity of social inequality. In his book A Defense of Pluralism and Equality, he argues that every society decides on the value of a social good and therefore should distribute those good according to the meanings they have. The social goods (healthcare, office, membership, money, politics, education) are divided into spheres each having their own distributive arguments. Walzer’s acceptance of the pluralistic nature of human group and ideology leads to his argument of a complex equality, one that contrasts the ideas of equality explicit in Rawlsian Liberalism.
Classic narrative cinema is what Bordwell, Staiger and Thompson (The classic Hollywood Cinema, Columbia University press 1985) 1, calls “an excessively obvious cinema”1 in which cinematic style serves to explain and not to obscure the narrative. In this way it is made up of motivated events that lead the spectator to its inevitable conclusion. It causes the spectator to have an emotional investment in this conclusion coming to pass which in turn makes the predictable the most desirable outcome. The films are structured to create an atmosphere of verisimilitude, which is to give a perception of reality. On closer inspection it they are often far from realistic in a social sense but possibly portray a realism desired by the patriarchal and family value orientated society of the time. I feel that it is often the black and white representation of good and evil that creates such an atmosphere of predic...
Mathijs, Ernest, and Jamie Sexton. Cult Cinema: An Introduction. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011. Print.
Weinstein, A. (2012). Superior customer value: strategies for winning and retaining customers (3rd ed.). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.