PhD Doctor of Philosophy Political Philosophy and Social Justice

Question 1

John Rawls' 'veil of ignorance' is a device used in his theory to ensure that principles of justice are chosen:

Accepted Answer

Without knowledge of one's place in society

Answer

Behind the veil of ignorance, rational contractors do not know their class, talents, or conception of the good, motivating fair principles.

Question 2

Rawls' difference principle states that social and economic inequalities are just only if they benefit:

Accepted Answer

The least advantaged members of society

Answer

The difference principle permits inequalities only when they improve the absolute position of the least well-off group.

Question 3

Robert Nozick's entitlement theory holds that a distribution is just if it arises from:

Accepted Answer

Just acquisition and voluntary transfer

Answer

Nozick argues in Anarchy, State, and Utopia that justice in holdings depends entirely on the historical process by which they were acquired.

Question 4

The social contract tradition, represented by Locke, Hobbes, and Rousseau, grounds political authority in:

Accepted Answer

Actual or hypothetical consent of the governed

Answer

Social contract theories hold that legitimate political authority derives from an agreement — real or hypothetical — among free and equal persons.

Question 5

Communitarianism, associated with Michael Sandel and Alasdair MacIntyre, criticizes liberal individualism for failing to account for the role of:

Accepted Answer

Community and tradition in shaping identity

Answer

Communitarians argue that persons are constituted by their communal attachments and traditions, not pre-social atoms as liberals assume.

PhD Doctor of Philosophy Practice Test