Who came up with reflective equilibrium?

Nelson Goodman
2.1 Origins in justification of logic This approach to the justification of rules of inductive logic—without the label “reflective equilibrium”—was proposed by Nelson Goodman in his classic Fact, Fiction, and Forecast (Goodman 1955).

What is wide reflective equilibrium?

Wide reflective equilibrium, first introduced by Rawls, has been described by Norman Daniels as “a method that attempts to produce coherence in ordered triple sets of beliefs held by a particular person, namely: (a) a set of considered moral judgments, (b) a set of moral principles, and (c) a set of relevant ( …

What is reflective equilibrium example?

For example, if we find out that a baby has been murdered, we might think that this is terrible and feel quite bad about it. Given a moral intuition, the method of reflective equilibrium says that we should try to generalize and come up with a general moral principle that explains this intuition.

What does Rawls’s mean by reflective equilibrium?

Wide reflective equilibrium means that we expand beyond our original moral considerations. We need to consider alternatives and other kinds of moral judgements. This can help us see potential pitfalls in our original moral judgements. Rawls thought that people are seeking a true or genuine moral theory of justice.

What is Rawls Maximin principle?

Updated March 31, 2019. The maximan principle is a justice criterion proposed by the philosopher Rawls. A principle about the just design of social systems, e.g. rights and duties. According to this principle the system should be designed to maximize the position of those who will be worst off in it.

What is Rawls theory?

John Rawls (b. 1921, d. 2002) was an American political philosopher in the liberal tradition. His theory of justice as fairness describes a society of free citizens holding equal basic rights and cooperating within an egalitarian economic system.

What is reflective morality?

Reflective morals are those that are based on what you believe to be right and not others. The ideas related to the development of art, values, human rights and quality education etc., all are because of man’s reflection. Reflective morality is the best stage of development of morality in human society.

Why does Rawls focus on the basic structure of society?

2 More explicitly, Rawls defines the basic structure as ‘the way in which the main political and social institutions of society fit together into one system of social cooperation, and the way they assign basic rights and duties and regulate the divi- sion of advantages that arises from social cooperation over time’ ( …

What is the method of reflective equilibrium?

The method of reflective equilibrium consists in working back and forth among our considered judgments (some say our “intuitions”) about particular instances or cases [and] the principles or rules that we believe govern them…

What are Rawls three principles?

Rawls identifies the following equal basic liberties: “political liberty (the right to vote and hold public office) and freedom of speech and assembly; liberty of conscience and freedom of thought; freedom of the person, which includes freedom from psychological oppression and physical assault and dismemberment ( …

What is Rawls difference principle?

Rawls’s difference principle requires that economic systems be organized so that the least advantaged members of society are better off than they would be in any alternative economic arrangement.

What is the definition of wide reflective equilibrium?

3.2 Wide Reflective Equilibrium. 3.2.1 A Theory of Justice. Rawls’s proposal is that we can determine what principles of justice we ought to adopt, on full reflection, and be persuaded that our choices are justifiable to ourselves and others, only if we broaden the circle of beliefs that must cohere.

Is the reflective equilibrium process dialogical or dialogical?

We can also refer to the process or method itself as the “method of reflective equilibrium.” The method of reflective equilibrium can be carried out by individuals acting separately or together. In the latter case, the method is dialogical and agreement among participants may or may not be accompanied by a search for coherence.

How is reflective equilibrium used in Rawls theory?

The method of reflective equilibrium thus plays a role in both the construction and justification of Rawls’s theory of justice (Daniels 1996; Scanlon 2002). Its role in construction is an example of its use as a form of deliberation.

What is the idea of reflective equilibrium in moral philosophy?

Reflective equilibrium and coherence arguments. The central idea at work here is the conception of moral philosophy as a process of seeking “reflective equilibrium”: that is, a process through which the philos­opher attempts to arrive at a coherent moral theory which is compatible with a wide range of pre‑theoretical commitments.