The conclusions are rational under the stipulation that each person has an equal chance of being in anybody’s position. But it is not actually rational given that the stipulation is false.
The argument of both Rawls and Harsanyi is not that it just happens to be rational for everybody to agree to their moral criteria; the argument is that the morally rational choice for society is a universal application of the rule which is egoistically rational for people behind the veil of ignorance. Of course it’s not egoistically rational for people to give anything up once they are outside the veil of ignorance, but then they’re obviously making unfair decisions, so it’s irrelevant to the thought experiment.
And I don’t see how the conclusion is fair to Bob when the conclusion is based on a false stipulation
Stipulations can’t be true or false—they’re stipulations. It’s a thought experiment for epistemic purposes.
Bob is a real person. He shouldn’t be treated like he had an equal chance of being in Amy’s or Susie’s position, when he in fact didn’t.
The reason we look at what they would agree to from behind the veil of ignorance as opposed to outside is that it ensures that they give equal consideration to everyone, which is a basic principle that appeals to us as a cornerstone of any decent moral system.
Also, to be clear, the Original Position argument doesn’t say “imagine if Bob had an equal chance of being in Amy’s or Susie’s position, see how you would treat them, and then treat him that way.” If it did, then it would simply not work, because the question of exactly how you should actually treat him would still be undetermined. Instead, the argument says “imagine if Bob had an equal chance of being in Amy’s or Susie’s position, see what decision rule they would agree to, and then treat them according to that decision rule.”
Sorry, can you quote the part you’re referring to?
The first paragraph of his first comment.
Can you explain what this “utilitarian principle of indifference argument” is?
The argument of both Rawls and Harsanyi is not that it just happens to be rational for everybody to agree to their moral criteria; the argument is that the morally rational choice for society is a universal application of the rule which is egoistically rational for people behind the veil of ignorance. Of course it’s not egoistically rational for people to give anything up once they are outside the veil of ignorance, but then they’re obviously making unfair decisions, so it’s irrelevant to the thought experiment.
Stipulations can’t be true or false—they’re stipulations. It’s a thought experiment for epistemic purposes.
The reason we look at what they would agree to from behind the veil of ignorance as opposed to outside is that it ensures that they give equal consideration to everyone, which is a basic principle that appeals to us as a cornerstone of any decent moral system.
Also, to be clear, the Original Position argument doesn’t say “imagine if Bob had an equal chance of being in Amy’s or Susie’s position, see how you would treat them, and then treat him that way.” If it did, then it would simply not work, because the question of exactly how you should actually treat him would still be undetermined. Instead, the argument says “imagine if Bob had an equal chance of being in Amy’s or Susie’s position, see what decision rule they would agree to, and then treat them according to that decision rule.”
The first paragraph of his first comment.
This very idea, originally argued by Harsanyi (http://piketty.pse.ens.fr/files/Harsanyi1975.pdf).