Unit:
Κατεύθυνση Ιστορίας της ΦιλοσοφίαςLibrary of the School of Philosophy
Supervisors info:
Γεώργιος Ν. Πολίτης, Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής Κοινωνικής Φιλοσοφίας, Τμήμα Φιλοσοφίας, ΕΚΠΑ
Βάνα Νικολαΐδου- Κυριανίδου, Αναπληρώτρια Καθηγήτρια Πολιτικής Φιλοσοφίας, Τμήμα Φιλοσοφίας, ΕΚΠΑ
Μαρία Κ. Χωριανοπούλου, Εντεταλμένη Διδάσκουσα, Τμήμα Φιλοσοφίας, ΕΚΠΑ
Original Title:
Η νομιμότητα της εξουσίας και το πέπλο της άγνοιας στη φιλοσοφία του John Rawls
Translated title:
Legitimacy of political power and the veil of ignorance in John Rawls' philosophy
Summary:
This thesis attempts an approach to the way Rawls legitimizes political power, under the conditions of a modern liberal constitutional democracy, using the concept of the veil of ignorance. To do so, it presents the social contract theory, as described in the Theory of Justice, examining the original position and its condition, the parties and the hypothetical device of the veil of ignorance, along with the idea of the reflective equilibrium. There is also reference to the moral basis of Rawls' constructivism, which is influenced by The Cantian philosophy. This is where the concept of Rawlsian autonomy starts. Later on, the concept of justice, which runs through Rawls' philosophy, and the two fundamental principles of justice are examined. In addition, this thesis presents the key points of Rawls' political liberalism, with an emphasis on those that play a vital role in justifying the legitimacy of power. It also examines how the fundamental principles of justice are practically applied, as the main axes of Rawls' distributive justice. In this context, both the Rawlsian egalitarianism and the theory of social liberalism, as well as ownership democracy, are placed as an ideal realization of the principles of difference and equal opportunities. Finally, it is attributed to the way in which all the above-mentioned issues are combined in the theory of justice as fairness, in order to legitimise political power in a liberal constitutional democracy. The veil of ignorance also plays a leading role here, since the way in which it is lifted also determines the process of establishing the fair institutions of the basic structure of society. An essay related to the legitimacy of power in The Rawlsian theory could not be considered complete, without referring to the way the philosopher defines civil disobedience. The work concludes with an attempt to critically assess the fairness that characterizes the basic structure of the Rawlsian well- ordered society.
Main subject category:
Social, Political and Economic sciences
Keywords:
John Rawls, veil of ignorance, original position, legitimacy of political power, political liberalism, egalitarianism, civil disobedience
Number of references:
391
