John Rawls' conceptions of justice and fairness were rooted in the Platonic notion that there is a moral order imposed on the Universe by cosmic or supernatural forces and that human morality is measure by how closely it conforms to this ideal. This is convenient for the philosopher because it allow him to "discover" these laws using thought experiments based on purely imaginary scenarios.
Perhaps this explains why Robert Heinlein has one of his characters describing philosophers as scientists with no thumbs.
Ah, Harrison Bergeron finally comes to the screen, eh?
ReplyDeleteJohn Rawls' conceptions of justice and fairness were rooted in the Platonic notion that there is a moral order imposed on the Universe by cosmic or supernatural forces and that human morality is measure by how closely it conforms to this ideal. This is convenient for the philosopher because it allow him to "discover" these laws using thought experiments based on purely imaginary scenarios.
ReplyDeletePerhaps this explains why Robert Heinlein has one of his characters describing philosophers as scientists with no thumbs.
There was a movie with Sean Astin several years ago that was along these lines.
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