Exam 9: Justice and the Good Society

The right not to be tortured is an example of a

A society that imposed no order but allowed people to do whatever they want would be an

Feminist philosophers agree with Descartes and Plato in granting privilege to reason over the body.

In arguing that "degrading distinctions" ought to be accepted only when necessary,Harriet Taylor implied that

One aspect of the authority of government is its ability to coerce its citizens to comply with the law so as to prevent them harming one another,and to make them secure from various harms (physical economic,etc.). Indeed,even libertarians recognize that the governments can justifiably limit the freedom of some of its citizens ("criminals")to protect others,as well as punish individuals who break the law (retributive justice) But what are the limits of the government's coercive powers in preventing and punishing crimes? Look at two scenarios,focused on preventing crimes. (Feel free to add or substitute your own scenarios -- but limit yourself to three,in total.) Suppose the government has access to data mining and other surveillance technologies,which it uses to eavesdrop on all of its citizens in order to prevent terrorist attacks. More dramatically,suppose,as in the movie Minority Report,that the government has the technology to anticipate when crimes are going to be permitted before they are committed. Should the government use these technologies? In general,what are the limits of the government's powers in making us more secure? What other values and rights must societies balance against security in limiting the government's powers?

In courts of law,the blindfolded figure of justice signifies that

One challenge any society would face in providing for equality of opportunity is that

Suppose that you are a liberal architect of social reform.You and a number of fellow reform architects have basically agreed that a new social contract is needed. It has two baseline principles of justice,which happen to be identical with John Rawls' two "principles of justice" in Chapter Nine. Now you must decide how to reform existing social and political institutions in light of these two principles. Create a fictional dialogue between you and one other reform architect in which you argue about particular reforms,based on these principles. Reforms can deal with the way wealth is distributed through taxation (and other means),the provision of health care and medical insurance,welfare and other forms of governmental assistance,as well as affirmative action (you may have other reforms you want to add-but don't add too many!). Try to keep it real (that is,reforms should be possible to implement).And remember,you're looking at distributive justice,so issues of equality are of paramount importance.

Libertarians differ from liberals in favoring

If you believe in the idea of a social contract,then you probably accept that the people who are governed are the ultimate source of the legitimacy and authority of the government.

To imagine a utopia is to imagine

Equality of opportunity is relatively easy to achieve because inequality in advantages does not usually imply inequality in opportunity.

The concept of equality of respect is the presumption that

Simone de Beauvoir argued that the dependency of women on men is the result of historical events that simply happened,naturally.

When philosophers think about society,they

Communitarians tend to be critical of the concept of a social contract because

The Ancient Greeks believed that one had to live in a good society in order to live a good life.

Rousseau describes life in the state of nature (but not life in society)as a

The concept of the "invisible hand" was first expressed by

The concept of the free market is of a set of economic arrangements