# Original Position

> 【EN】The original position is a central feature of John Rawls’s social contract account of justice, “justice as fairness,” set forth in A Theory of Justice (TJ). The original position is designed to be a fair and impartial point of view that is to be adopted in our reasoning about fundamental principles of justice. In taking up this point of view, we are to imagine ourselves in the position of free and equal persons who jointly agree upon and commit themselves to principles of social and political justice for a well-ordered democratic society. The main distinguishing feature of the original position is “the veil of ignorance”: To ensure complete impartiality of judgment, the parties are deprived of all knowledge of their personal characteristics and conceptions of the good, and of social and historical circumstances. … 【中】原初状态是罗尔斯在《正义论》中“作为公平的正义”这一社会契约式论述的核心设置。采取这一视角，就是把自己想象成自由而平等的人，为良序社会共同商定并承诺正义原则。词条涵盖无知之幕、正当的形式约束如公开性、稳定性要求、极大极小准则的论证与承诺的负担。

- ID: m13270
- Category: culture
- Domain: 哲学

## Definition

原初状态是罗尔斯在《正义论》中作为公平的正义这一社会契约式论述的核心设置。它被设计为我们在推理根本的正义原则时应采取的公平而无偏私的视角，在其中我们把自身设想为自由而平等的人。 脚手架作用：- 立场抽离：用无知之幕屏蔽自身处境后再评判规则 - 原则筛选：按最不利者的处境检验制度安排可否接受 - 偏私识别：检查某项主张是否依赖偶然的天赋与地位

## How it works

公平由无知之幕来保证：遮蔽掉各方的阶级、天赋等偶然信息后，没有人能为自己的特殊处境定制原则。在这种对称处境中，理性选择会倾向保障最不利者的原则——谁都可能落在最底层，按极大极小准则取舍是稳妥的。无知之幕由此把无偏私从动机要求转化为情境设定。

## Practice

1) 列出待选择的正义原则候选；2) 遮蔽掉与道德无关的偶然信息；3) 站在可能被分配到任意位置的立场上比较这些原则；4) 检查所选原则是否满足公开性与稳定性的要求。

## Use

- 立场抽离：用无知之幕屏蔽自身处境后再评判规则 - 原则筛选：按最不利者的处境检验制度安排可否接受 - 偏私识别：检查某项主张是否依赖偶然的天赋与地位

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