In John Rawls's theory of justice, what is the "veil of ignorance"?

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A hypothetical thought experiment in which people design principles of justice without knowing their own position in society, ensuring fairness through impartiality. The "veil of ignorance" is the central thought experiment in John Rawls's "A Theory of Justice" (1971). Rawls asks us to imagine designing the basic principles that will govern society from behind a "veil of ignorance" - not knowing our own race, gender, intelligence, wealth, social class, or natural abilities. Rawls argues that rational people in this "original position" would choose principles that protect the worst-off members of society, because anyone might end up in the least advantaged position. This leads to Rawls's two principles: equal basic liberties for all, and social and economic inequalities arranged to benefit the least advantaged (the "difference principle").

Preventing jurors from knowing defendants' identities describes a blind jury system, which is a specific legal procedure rather than the comprehensive social contract thought experiment that Rawls proposed. Classifying sensitive government information describes national security classification, which is a government secrecy policy rather than a philosophical tool for deriving principles of justice. A medical practice of concealing diagnoses describes paternalistic medical information withholding, which is an entirely different ethical context from Rawls's philosophical method of impartial reasoning.

Rawls's theory of justice is one of the most important topics on the Ethics in America DSST exam. Students should understand the veil of ignorance, the original position, the two principles of justice (equal liberty and the difference principle), how Rawls's theory relates to the social contract tradition, and the major criticisms from libertarians (Nozick), communitarians, and utilitarians.

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