When we were first introduced to Rawls and the "veil of ignorance", our teacher explained it with a simple allegory. Imagine it's your birthday and your parents throw a party for you and your friends. When the time to cut the cake comes, your mother tells you "Now, you can cut the cake in whatever way you want to; however, you cannot choose the slice that you'll get to have.". Maybe you'd like a bigger slice of that cake, but since you don't want to risk getting a small slice, you just decide to cut equal slices for everybody. Perhaps it's rather pointless to post this here, but I thought it was an interestingly easy way for even children to understand this concept. WELLP. Have a good day.

@laldingliana5198

8 жыл бұрын

Nice allegory

@gizmo7720

8 жыл бұрын

thank you for your comment and being honest i only understood the video from the example you gave.

@spazzmaticus1542

8 жыл бұрын

Depends on how hungry you are.

@duartevgc2114

8 жыл бұрын

Fantastic!

@L30N4tER

7 жыл бұрын

So, think about what you would want for you. Then, make them accessible for all.

There seems to be a lot of confusion on the position that Rawls takes, probably because the video is so short. YumeYume commented about a cake example, where everyone might get an equal slice. This isn't a pure representation of Rawls. Rawl's theory acknowledges that everyone will be getting different size slices of cake, but the slice of cake that is the MOST important is the smallest slice. Make the smallest slice as large as possible and you're golden. But wouldn't that make every slice the same any way? No, not if you consider disabilities, children, or elderly. These people will generally not receive the largest slices of cake on their own merit, so aid will be given to them to "make their slice bigger." Your small business hit rock bottom and you're bankrupt? The "original position" will create policies to give aid to you to allow you to pick yourself back up. I feel like the video was somewhat misunderstood when implying Rawls is a solution to individual unfairness. Rawls is only concerned with societal fairness, however prioritizes the least advantaged in society. Sometimes it makes the most sense to give someone a big slice if it will boost the size of someone else's.

@Guizambaldi

5 жыл бұрын

I commented something on those lines in the YumeYume post. I agree with you.

@Linnea1726

5 жыл бұрын

I agree with you that Rawl's had a focus towards the individuals that are at a disadvantage in society. However, your interpretation of the cake sounds differently from the video. What you said "Make the smallest slice as large as possible and you're golden" sounds more like appreciation for the smaller things in life. But Rawl was saying that people ought to look at life from both sides of the grass because you don't know where you're going to end up. But who is going to actually want to pick the smallest piece of cake? Who wants to be poor? If you are poor, you're more likely to take advantage of the aid that is given to you but who would willingly choose that life?

@Amanda-qt5zz

5 жыл бұрын

Chinesegirl if you actually read “Theory...” you will see that Rawls has two (1: liberty, 2a & 2b: difference) principles that guides his hypothetical contract theory. And 2b is a “maximin” principle, saying that one shall always maximize the benefits of these least well-off. So regardless of the veil of ignorance, there WILL always be some that are least well-off, there will never be pure equality. This is due to the fact that we have natural endowments vs challenges (for example strength or grit vs disability) that will not magically disappear even though equal opportunity (2a) is given to all.

@Cucosnest

5 жыл бұрын

Another thing: Rawls probably wouldn't say people under the veil of ignorance would think about Switzerland or Denmark as models for what they want. He clearly states that in a capitalist welfare state there is still a division between those who own the means of production (thus more access to positions of power and representation) and those work don't own the means of production (and have lesse chance to achieve positions of responsibilities in society in general) He states the achievable utopia would be, in my loose terms, a full democracy where the means of production are in the hands of the workers (either in a socialized scheme or in a market scheme).

@since1966

4 жыл бұрын

"Make the smallest slice as large as possible and youre golden".. that is achieved actually when the smallest slice is also the biggest slice, therefore they re all the same regarding their size

I remember a thought experiment in my school where we were tasked with creating a society, but we didn't know ahead of time if we'd be on the bottom rung or the top rung of that society. Seems my Social Studies teacher had been studying Rawls.

@Linnea1726

5 жыл бұрын

It kind of reminds me of the old Indian Caste System. People are born into a certain position in society. By doing good to others and living a spiritually, you can move up the caste system in the next life. I don't know why it reminds me of that.

My goal in academia: do something valuable enough to the point when then School of Life makes a video about it.

@dipro001

4 жыл бұрын

@@evan2173 Thanks for making this comment. I forgot i ever wrote this. It took me back to my old ambitions. A few sparks left, still.

@arminius6506

3 жыл бұрын

Academia has never done any valuable service to society btw

@zawyehtike3089

3 жыл бұрын

Dear @@dipro001 , since we have very similar aims, I would like to invite you to my education reform group!🤝 discord.gg/YMWSfX34

@zawyehtike3089

3 жыл бұрын

@@arminius6506 Unfortunately that's how things have turned out unfortunately in Academia🎓. Its policy-makers and the adminstrative bodies tend to focus more on profit than on learner's individuals needs. The use of bundeled knowledge🧺 to sell as an product has been deeply segegrative with degree systems🗞 and credential inflations📈 that its in a crisis. It was once a body that seeks to expand the pinacle of human knowledge🧠, promoting progress for individuals👤 & societies👥 but with such cooperate💸 & profit-driven motives💰 replacing over these, its evident that having a new system would be necessary. A system that goes in addressing these, focusing on bringing out individual gifts/sparks🔅 & life-purposes❓ than of grades🔢🔡 & institutional expectations🏛. It would be a dream to have it and for me, I'm working on a Vocational System⭐ that could do just that which has the potential to be true🙏.

@jansarstedt1063

3 жыл бұрын

@@arminius6506 Thats a highly questionable statement i'd say

Buddy I've just listened to about 10 of these videos in a row. Each was more brilliant than the one before. Kudos to your talent, and thank you for the quality of the product.

@karlkarling4619

8 жыл бұрын

+David Drewery I watched 14, I win :-DD

@karlkarling4619

8 жыл бұрын

***** I have watched the universe unleash its deepest most hidden secrets of spurdo to me, I win :-DDDDDD

@karlkarling4619

8 жыл бұрын

***** >Ireland Holy shit do you live here?

@karlkarling4619

8 жыл бұрын

***** I live in Limerick, stab city :^)

@karlkarling4619

8 жыл бұрын

***** Well, its safer than you'd think, just don't go to Childers road and you're fine.

Being able to sum up an entire philosophy in 6-8 minutes is really impressive, and your work is exceptional. I would really appreciate something on John Locke, another cornerstone on the formation of government and State of Nature. Accordingly, something on Nozick would be great as well. Thank you for your works!

@Munchausenification

4 ай бұрын

Well, it is not the most complicated of theories out there so explaining is pretty quick. You mentioned Locke and a large part of theory of justice is to find evidence and collect data on how society is unfair, where Locke would say look at "human nature" and consider his own toughts on it as enough evidence. Still, Locke, Hobbes and others layed the groundwork for Rawls's theory

please provide closed caption for deaf viewers. I would love to watch this.

@shitabdaiyanakash2046

9 жыл бұрын

Alexa Hansen The following isn't the captioned video. However, its an approximate script to the video up here. Almost entirely followed through in the video. Might be useful i suppose : thephilosophersmail.com/perspective/the-great-philosophers-john-rawls/

@sociaalyoutube2423

5 жыл бұрын

@@shitabdaiyanakash2046 you practised this theory.

@carolinehansen00

4 жыл бұрын

I know this is weird but we have the same last name lol

@Goingby20s

2 жыл бұрын

There are captions now.

@badlord9095

2 жыл бұрын

he now has

Every time I tune into this channel, I leave with more confidence in humanity and less apathetic to circumstances outside my immediate control. Thank you. Please do not stop.

@Linnea1726

5 жыл бұрын

I love this channel too. I love his voice. It's soothing and is easier to comprehend than the readings I am given. The philosophy videos I have watched sound similar to each other. The people have their own emphasis but it sounds like they all believe that there are more ways to better society and it starts with the way we think about life.

I had to come back to this video; I'm currently reading Rawls for life purposes and no academic intention whatsoever so far. This video was my starting point. I was and remain inspired.

You should do Robert nozick next.

@user-ci8qs2oc1b

8 жыл бұрын

+Marchall White yup

@coltonkilloran

8 жыл бұрын

+Marchall White They will never do Nozick. They won't even do Locke. If you haven't noticed, School of Life is just socialist propaganda.

@coltonkilloran

8 жыл бұрын

+Hunter Tidwell I'm not sure it is such a stretch. Propaganda isn't a very nasty term. It's fine to have biased views but it is crucial that people recognize that bias. I don't think you could honestly say that school of life is not at least slightly biased towards the left (although I would say quite strongly biased). You're right that they have Adam Smith (which is something I didn't realize earlier) but even in that video they don't mention "the invisible hand" which definitely a lot more significant to his work than most of the things they mentioned. Instead they talked about rich people being narcissists and how to treat them (again a total left wing assumption). Also you can't honestly say that they "dismissed" Marx; by this I assume you're referring to the one sentence on how his ideas have never worked properly in the past? Every Marx supporter I've ever heard has conceded that point and countered with "well that's because they didn't do it right." They didn't criticize his actual philosophy at all (which is fine since they didn't criticize Adam Smith either) but it was far from a dismissal. And their video on capitalism (if I can remember correctly) was mostly about how to fix it using socialist means. I also found the Rousseau video to be kind of ridiculous in the sense that they called him a provocateur, but didn't mention any of his more crazy ideas (like the legislator, his support for brain washing the public etc.). They also attributed him with a certain "state of nature" that I have never heard anyone else use to describe him -- which made him look like a transcendentalist or something. This channel (at least to me) seems clearly biased, although I do not find that to be a bad thing necessarily. I just need to watch other videos that are slightly skewed towards the right to make up my mind.

@coltonkilloran

8 жыл бұрын

+Hunter Tidwell Fair enough, I guess I use the terms "socialist" and "left" more or less synonymously -- which I understand isn't totally accurate. Although I still find it hard to make the argument that School of Life is in defence of classical liberalism (which is what I consider to be the center) since they are the only group that feels the need to discuss Hobbes and Rousseau while leaving out Locke and Mill. I do understand, however, that you aren't claiming that they are classical liberals. But even neoliberalism seems like a stretch for me since (correct me if I'm wrong) I've always associated neoliberalism with lessez-faire economics and fiscal austerity; someone like Margaret Thatcher. Either way I understand your point and the semantics are less important. It just bugs me when videos that lean slightly right get scalded for their unfair biases while videos that lean (sometimes extremely) left are considered fair because they generally sound 'nice'. Regarding School of Life representing the status quo: we may have to agree to disagree on that one since that is more of an intuitive argument. That being said, I hope the status quo is not left leaning to the point where business owners and producers are practically vilified, or at best, ignored (which is the impression I get from SOL). But you may be right about that; the public has grown quite distasteful of big business. I appreciate your civility as well. This gives me good practice for my philosophy papers.

@RickeyRamone

8 жыл бұрын

+Colton Killoran They did Locke and they SHOULD do Nozick.

These are the best videos I've seen on philosophy. They make everything easy to understand, provide a nice visual with a stylized look, and manage to do so in such a short amount of time. I wouldn't mind hearing these ideas talked about for hours in a podcast format. Whoever is behind writing these summaries of philosophers no doubt has a great understanding of theses ideas and I'd love to hear them discussed in further detail.

Thank you, The School of Life for this absolutely brilliant and clarifying explanation of Rawls' work. Looking forward to many more videos.

Great Video. After taking a class on Modern Political Philosophy, I can say that this video contains all the really important ideas Rawls brings to the table. Many people would find Rawls rather difficult to read, but this video really highlights the ideas that the average person needs to consider by themselves on their own. Keep up the work! I enjoy all the videos this channel makes.

@romanski5811

Жыл бұрын

Do you oppose unnecessary violence toward animals or do you buy meat?

@Grahamnut

Жыл бұрын

@@romanski5811 Yes I do oppose unnecessary violence towards animals. Come this October I will have been vegan for 5 years.

You guys have got my trust back on youtube channels ! I thought, youtube was the new 'idiot box', but looking at your channel I feel the contrary. Thanks for putting up such thoughtful content !

this is one of the best channels i have ever had the luck of finding. keep up the good work!

This is probably the best channel on KZread now. Keep up the good work!

If John Rawls is going to be covered, then certainly doing a video on Robert Nozick would be a must?

@macuskrakow449

8 жыл бұрын

Lancer Davis Burguiere shhhh, don't ruin the party

@hansmahr8627

8 жыл бұрын

Lancer Davis Burguiere Not really.

@danielcoimbra8642

8 жыл бұрын

+Lancer Davis Burguiere Perhaps, in the eyes of Alain de Botton, Nozick has not taught lessons worth sharing.

@jimzheng4912

8 жыл бұрын

+Lancer Davis Burguiere Compassion and Altruism are the noblest of virtues.

@TheHiveLife

8 жыл бұрын

+Lancer Davis Burguiere You mean the darling of the corporate hegemonic establishment? He whose individualistic right to property in every way trumps egalitarian social justice? If I'm not mistaken, even Nozick himself wasn't swallowing the libertarian bit by the end of his days.

this 'veil of ignorance' experiment is brilliant

@lepetitchat123

5 жыл бұрын

It is compatible with antinatalism. The risk factor is too much in being born.

@Koettnylle

5 жыл бұрын

@@lepetitchat123 Boy do i feel like a sucker, opting in on the getting born thing

@ineffablebeing4276

5 жыл бұрын

No, it’s overly simplistic, flawed, and based in Rawls own preconceptions and insecurities. Beware of cheap lazy answers to a complex world.

@briank3692

5 жыл бұрын

@@ineffablebeing4276 what? can you elaborate

@sophiaalexisdelapena8259

4 жыл бұрын

@@Koettnylle yep elaborate please

The way that the transcript has source links to the images and a good deal of information...this is on another level of academia 👏

Perfect communication here - fabulous use of visuals. Congratulations

LOL, who come here because you have to write an essay. .....

@jakeperkins6725

4 жыл бұрын

plz halp. mines over our moral duty to obey the law.....uugggghhhhh kill me now

@FosbackFilms

4 жыл бұрын

I'm just here to learn, man.

@actualideas8078

4 жыл бұрын

FosbackFilms learn this. Bill Clinton was not a good dude. He was a drug smuggler and human trafficker. Looks like Rawls was a friend of his

@natyolantern7884

4 жыл бұрын

@@FosbackFilms lucky you

@amac3558

4 жыл бұрын

yes. Just 1500 words for mine tho "state income redistribution policies are necessary to ensure the fair distribution of the benefits and proceeds of landmark innovations related to mechanization, robotics and artificial intelligence."

The veil of ignorance is a brilliant thought experiment. Thanks for your incredibly informative and well narrated videos!

@ineffablebeing4276

5 жыл бұрын

Hallgrenoid not really

Simply brilliant! Love this concept on its face. I am glad someone properly educated realized this. I know that this concept is easier said than done, but that should never excuse us from trying. God speed man, God speed.

Thank you! Love this series!

I'd like to hear what Rawls thought about Clinton.

@FGP_Pro

9 жыл бұрын

He probably thought, "Well, he's no FDR, but he's better than Reagan."

@FGP_Pro

9 жыл бұрын

TJsMusicUploads Whether or not the POTUS is a puppet of the wealthy elite is beyond the point. Some presidents are better than others. They are clearly not all the same. FDR is the best president of modern times. That is not to say that even if we had a modern day FDR in office today that people should "trust" them and abdicate their responsibilities as citizens to act in good faith, stay informed and engaged. Not only are Science and politics up for manipulation, so is religion. It is naive to think otherwise. What you have said doesn't explain why faith is important. I do not trust nature, that's why we have hospitals. Your statement, "its a trust in nature(What some call God) to work out for the best" is one of the most naive things ever said. In fact a philosopher named Voltaire wrote a great book about it called "Candide, or The Optimist". It will only work out for the best if and only if people of good will work together to make it work out for the best.

@FGP_Pro

8 жыл бұрын

Jeremiah Mckenna As opposed to Reagan and Ayn Rand, who would talk about how they can help the contra rebels murder more nuns, and sell crack to inner-city youth.

@quote3000

8 жыл бұрын

+Majoofi Funny you mention Clinton, because was huge fan of John Rawls. As such, Clinton gave Rawls a congressional medal for his work.

@archangelmist8470

6 жыл бұрын

quote3000 Yes, that is quite true. As i recall, Clinton also had Rawls as a dinner guest at the whitehouse.

This is, honestly, amazing. Easy to understand, friendly and comprehensive. Please make more of these videos. Oh, and I'd like to see Macchiavelli in on of these.

Congratulations for making it so well!

Another excellent video. Keep em' coming!

Hi, Can you please make a video on Robert Nozick?

@The School of Life,+The School of Life ,I would really love to see some videos on Anarchist Political theorists,Particularly that of the libertarian Socialist variety.Such as Emma Goldman ,or perhaps Pierre Joseph Proudhon.Though not exactly a libertarian socialist ,he is vastly important in the development of anarchism.This is one of my favorite channels so keep spreading knowledge.

@LumendeLumen

8 жыл бұрын

+The School of Life Noam Chompsky please :p

@69adambomb69

8 жыл бұрын

A Merry Can YES

@willianpablo3071

8 жыл бұрын

+Adam Chavez LIBERTARIAN SOCIALISTS? WHAAAAT?

@69adambomb69

8 жыл бұрын

Willian Pablo look em up

@willianpablo3071

8 жыл бұрын

Adam Chavez Noam Chompsky is a anarcho-socialist, not a libertarian (free market and individual rights apologist)

This channel is amazing. It's not the most academic or detailed but it's accurate and understandable.

These are such incredible videos! Thank you so much!

These videos are absolutely hands down some of the best videos on KZread. The School of Life is fucking awesome.

@tonybaroni7

7 жыл бұрын

Sean Cavey lol if you like being brainwashed by guys who just spitball what they think these people have said. Those 4 points of how the "public" wants to change society...yeah Rawls never said that. The veil of ignorance is an excuse for the rich to get richer. He literally says in a theory of justice, that not everyone especially the handicapped will be included...Bill Clinton is not a reliable source for fair judgement lol

Hey, I'm not a native english speaker but I really like your channel. Plus it's helping me a lot with my studies. I'm studying at a university of political science in Serbia and books aren't as understandable as these vids are so thanks. Only one remark, if you could possibly place a subtitles in these videos just so you could make it easier for us who aren't so fluent in English to watch your vids. Cheers.

@shitabdaiyanakash2046

9 жыл бұрын

Veljko .Vukojičić might be useful : thephilosophersmail.com/perspective/the-great-philosophers-john-rawls/

Amazing Video!Thank you.As you realize this everything changes

Very succinctly put! Veil of Ignorance is indeed at the heart of Rawl's theory. Keep on the good work.

I love this channel! John Rawls is my favorite political philosopher hands down!

@Mr.Maravilla

3 жыл бұрын

Estoy meses tratando de entender la filosofía de Rawl pero no logro hacerlo, ayuda

This is my Sunday morning: wake up, make coffee and breakfast, and run a series of School of Life videos to get my brain working, and then off to the gym, market, mall or café to consider what I have just seen. Thanks for this page!

@kurowskysarah1999

3 жыл бұрын

Loving this routine!

Thank you for the video and your time :)

I'm studying for my Politics and Society test in 3 days! What fun!

I'm adding this to my favourites list.

@RobSmith2016

9 жыл бұрын

Also I'd recommend doing a video on Albert Ellis and his discoveries in CBT and his influences from ancient stoic philosophy. Albert Ellis is very fascinating.

Gene Mark's Forbes article, "If I were a poor black kid" is a prime example of how detached and naive the successful wealthy are of the issues in their country.

Great video! Have you thought of covering Wittgenstein and explaining his theory and his life? His ideas are certainly quite radical and his life is immensely interesting.

Great video! Also, i love it when you mention my country Denmark!

thanks john rowls and thanks The School of Life channel for brilliantly putting things in perspective giving a food for thought

Wow, loved this video. I just learned about John Rawls last semester in my Healthcare Ethics course and his whole "Original Position" and "Veil of Ignorance" theory really stood out to me among the other things we covered, so I'm real glad to see this here. I'm currently taking a Religion & Psychology course and it's quite interesting so far. Any chance of there being a video on Maslow or Jung in the coming months? Also, I read your book The Consolations of Philosophy over xmas break and loved it, especially the sections on Nietzsche and Montaigne. Would love to see a video on Montaigne! I recently picked up his complete essays Volume I at a local bookstore, and I'm really interested in reading Nietzsche after learning about his philosophy in Consolations and in your School of Life video. Which work(s) of his would you suggest to start with? Thanks Alain! I'm a big fan!

@konara_

Жыл бұрын

Hope you got to read more Nietzsche

phenomenal and yet so simple ..... really i stood up in admiration

It would be great with a video on John Stuart Mill! Keep up the good work :)

All free societies are unfair. Only by force can they be made completely fair. Utopian ideals forced on society end up with millions dead (say the Cultural Revolution, Soviet purges, Jacobin bloodletting, etc). We still should help the poor as responsible citizens. We should create opportunity for those at the lowest income levels. Just remember any utopia always equals someone's dystopia!

9 жыл бұрын

Chris McCall Denmark is no utopia, Belgium, my own country isn't one neither and I know I'm free. I tend to think they are waaaaaaay fairer than the US or other rich countries. It is about to try to be as fair as possible, step by step and try to better the system incrementally.

@kage-fm

5 жыл бұрын

say that it’s true that all attempts to rectify grave injustice result in mass casualties, and say that the american civil war is an example. would you advocate that america should have let slavery continue?

This is why I think the right to equal opportunity in the Netherlands is so important!

this is really really good. it does make one wonder the sorts of changes Rawls 'veil of ignorance' suggest have still not been implemented

gotta love the russell brand pic showing up as we hear the word 'rational'.

I'm curious to know if the star child orbiting the earth in this video correlates to Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey and the star child at the end of the film.

@pspolito

8 жыл бұрын

+Tom Damario My thoughts exactly.

@MatthewBorn88

8 жыл бұрын

+Tom Damario I always interpreted it as "mankind will die on earth and be reborn among the stars". A futurist statement, not one of social justice. Though one could argue that man is not capable of making that leap into space without first curing many of the societal ills associated with inhabiting earth. Or conversely, that the ills we cannot cure on earth will drive us toward the stars (i.e. bedridden Dave in the white, ornate bedroom, just before the star-child sequence).

The School of Life! Can you guys do a video on F.A. Hayek?

Excellent just fabulous! Everyone some where along the line should see this video!

Beautifully explained.Thank you.

A key point: Rawls doesn't want you to give up your (quite likely) imaginary lambo and yacht. The rich will reap rewards from supporting policies that make the life of the poor more likely to land on jobs and less likely to land in prison. The whole point of the theory is that policy makers stop making rules that everybody will have to follow, but that will only benefit the ones who already have access to a lot. Taxing million dollar inheritances for instance won't make rich heirs actually poor, it will only (if tax money is properly used) make the poorest have access to food, education and health, therefore making it a less violent and more civil society. Yes the rich will be paying, but the poor will pay too once they get access to the conditions that land people on good jobs or to open small businesses. Lots of countries apply these ideas and some of the rich there are able to understand that they reap the rewards too when the poor are given food, education and medical care.

Great video! Have you ever thought about doing a video on Alan Watts?

@Valosken

9 жыл бұрын

Alain de Botton I cannot wait for a video on Alan Watts. I watched a lot of his stuff years ago. It'd fill me with glee to see him turned into one of your little videos.

@3dge--runner

9 жыл бұрын

Alain de Botton Basho would be fantastic. Or even Bodhidharma. Thanks again for these videos.

@7kurisu

9 жыл бұрын

Domenic Calabrese BASHO!

@pissedoffdude1

9 жыл бұрын

7kurisu Banana tree!

@robertrowland1061

9 жыл бұрын

Alan Watts seemed a fine fellow but wasn't he an interpreter of eastern philosophy and religion more so than an original thinker? What would be the point?

I love the videos, just subscribed, just wondering what too do you use to build the animations? If you don't mind sharing, I'd like to use such animations for a presentation project at work.

I really liked the videos thank you for taking the time to make them,

nobody ever says anything about how in order to make life "fair" you have to turn the world into a prison camp they ignore that part the veil of ignorance handy for that too

@josee4832

5 жыл бұрын

We're all fair when the world's on fire.

Question. If all of these brilliant people have come before us and taught us how to live, how to create better societies, and how to treat others, than why has nothing been done? We know what must be done, but the hard decisions are never made! How sad for humanity as a whole.

@machinations7

8 жыл бұрын

+Brian Arroyo The video mentioned Switzerland and Denmark as examples, though I'm sure no one's claiming they are perfect societies.

@brianarroyo85

8 жыл бұрын

Yeah, I have heard that Denmark has one of the world's happiest populations. This has a lot to do with probably all the social safety nets, and services provided by the state. I'm not sure but it mostly likely due to they don't have to spend so much on a huge military.

@MrCardinal1965

2 жыл бұрын

An interesting question. Maybe it’s because of human nature, we all want different things, are personally at different stages of psychological and emotional development. Within different countries the people there have different ways of doing things for their own countries survival that are based upon the resources and environmental concerns that were/are available at the time theses societies came into existence, and that have shaped them culturally. Each individual/group/nation is reticent to give up the power and advantage they currently have as survival is the key fundamental of human existence. In effect Pandora’s box has been opened and humans cannot go back to year O.

Being an amateur in this area, I wonder the thought of the veil of ignorance applying to those who happen to see the poorest or the worst conditions, or even happen to work their way up in society, how the veil would apply to them if it did so differently then the initially privileged?

@thiagodeoliveira1727

2 жыл бұрын

Exactly

Excellent video, thanks. I think I'll share it.

"But we have a hard time explaining our sense of injustice" "Eat the rich!"

What about nozick please

I love this, thanks!

School of life is one of my 5 a day! Best channel on KZread

you done a good job for all of us, but if you add the subtitles in English it would be better! any way thank you The School of Life

@shitabdaiyanakash2046

9 жыл бұрын

Abdullahi İbrahim something close to subs is in the other SOL project : thephilosophersmail.com/perspective/the-great-philosophers-john-rawls/

@abdullahiibrahim5705

9 жыл бұрын

Shitab Daiyan Akash thank you.

John Rawls was a pretty clever guy. There really isn't enough philosophers who actually think about issues that really matter, like how a society should be formed. Most of them talk about semantics and dumb shit, when there can be real problems that might possibly be solved through serious philosophical inquiry and its methods.

@YellowJelly13

7 жыл бұрын

You are the dumb one. Not everybody has to focus on a single issue.

@bdbs5618

7 жыл бұрын

There's a trend away from the bullshit speculative philosophy you seem to be in favor of and it's all for the better. Analytic philosophy, or as you put it "semantics and dumb shit," is concerned with logic and the fundamental process of much of our reasoning and has made significant progress since the 20th century while continental philosophy is closer to the weak and non-rigorous methods of the social sciences and the humanities which is going nowhere.

I'm studying in Italy and I speak English good but not perfect, this video helped me a lot.It is better than traditional lections

Wonderful as always. I would love to see Marcus Aurelius featured at some point.

This sounds like the philosopher/writer Alain de Botton speaking.

@patriciabitar4829

7 жыл бұрын

It is him??

This was a really good video. Unfortunately, the comments section suggests that there are many people who lack the imagination to carry out the thought experiment.

@flintstone2069

9 жыл бұрын

And what is with all this talk about the video making us feel too guilty to enjoy our lives? I can hardly believe people's annoyance at SoL pointing out that the world is unfair and that we need to do something as people in positions of privilege.

@lepetitchat123

5 жыл бұрын

If you have a lot of imagination, antinatalism is your thing.

Beautifully explained...thank you 😊

Amazing video thank you

With the mention of Bill Clinton at the beginning, thoughts on a video about neoliberalism?

@mikev7132

8 жыл бұрын

Yeah, seriously - I think the Clintons may have badly missed Rawls' point when they scrapped the public safety net and called it "welfare reform."

@noooreally

8 жыл бұрын

Watch Bill Clintons speech at the DNC, he gives a rags to riches story.

@chocolatethunderiii4462

6 жыл бұрын

Honestly

Can you please remove the giant "click here SUBSCRIBE" box in the upper left hand corner. It's really annoying especially since I'm already subscribed to this channel.

@griggiorouge

9 жыл бұрын

you can do it yourself by hovering over it and clicking the x in the upper right of the box.

@Frexican54

9 жыл бұрын

No shit. its still annoying that its on every one of their videos.

@Juan-ws9sy

9 жыл бұрын

Alain de Botton So it IS your voice on these vids! Ya'll are doing great work. Thanks!

@idannen

9 жыл бұрын

Alain de Botton I don't think anybody will become a subscriber just because of this box. If someone likes your videos, he/she will click on the button underneath the title - and it's very annoying for us, who have already subscribed, to close the box every time we watch something from this channel.

I like this thought experiment very much. Thanks Alain.

It finally make sense! Thank you this is great!!

Please do one on Roberto Nozick (libertarian), who argued against John Rawls (liberal). Thanks

Please remember: equality of opportunity 👍 equality of outcome 👎

@novacane7913

5 жыл бұрын

social democracy few

@terminalvag1198

5 жыл бұрын

Stupid comment

@antikokalis

5 жыл бұрын

@@terminalvag1198 Hey. Can you explain why it's stupid?

@1stRECONspt

5 жыл бұрын

Also: Equity 👍 Equality 👎

@lindokuhletshongolo6071

5 жыл бұрын

Can you guarantee equality of opportunity??

Why did you include picture of Russel Brand?!

OMG! It is so useful so that there is no need to read myriad of scientific justice journals. Thanks a lot!!!

i still do not understand what john rawls contribution was beside of the thought experiment

@gcgrabodan

8 жыл бұрын

Also, I dont understand how his thought experiment should lead to anything else but Utilitarianism... At least that is my conclusion.

@noooreally

8 жыл бұрын

But whats wrong for striving for utilitarianism? I think Singer makes a good point for it being a moral compass.

@mohamedwalidbelahdji3744

8 жыл бұрын

z

@gcgrabodan

8 жыл бұрын

noooreally Nothing wrong with Utilitariansm. But Rawls didnt like it and argued against it. That is something I dont unterstand. @Mohamed: You cannot "test" a philosophical idea. You can argue and discuss it using logic but you cannot test or falsify it in a scientific way.

@noooreally

8 жыл бұрын

gcgrabodan oh I didn't know that... what did he say about it?

The ironic thing is that even though Bill Clinton had Rawls over for dinner on a regular basis and claimed him influential, Clinton changed the political identity of the party from the social democratic and Rawlsian inclinations of FDR and Jimmy Carter- among others. He changed it to a neoliberal identity that mostly opposed government attempts to redistribute wealth and large social programs. He famously claimed that “the era of big government is over.” He claimed to respect Rawls and then just kinda said- “yeah, we’re gonna move away from your ideas in favor of unfettered capitalism and small government.” Just kinda goes to show what a shitty dude Clinton really was.

thanks for explaining this. i was having such a hard time understanding his language.

Nice video! Thank you :) What video editor do you use to create these videos btw?

If you want to talk about poverty Scottsdale and Salt River Indian reservation borders each other the poverty rates of the reservation are twice as much as they are in Scottsdale or poorer more middle class Mesa. The policies of the indian reservation are more redistributive. They receive free health care & free university education. Yet the reservation is twice as poor as the cities they surround.

@vadllens01

8 жыл бұрын

+David Williams what an earth shatteringly simplistic and moronic assessment of the situation. I am enlightened

@stevenreynolds3995

8 жыл бұрын

Anecdotal evidence proves nothing. Re distributive NATIONS such as Sweden, Germany, Iceland, and other northern European democratic socialist states weathered the financial crisis of 2008 the best and have some of the highest qualities of living in the world. The salt river reservation can only do so much as they rely on funding partially from the US government and are partially restricted by its laws. This is too small of a sample to prove anything other than a single city cannot do much to change the effect of policies of its national government.

@DavidWilliamsaz

8 жыл бұрын

Steven Reynolds Germany Sweden states are not socailist they are some of the most free market countries in the world with social welfare states. When you rank all countries from most free market to least free market Canada and the US Japan South Korea and most of Europe all are some of the most free market countries in the world. France is not and France is a heavily regulated heavily taxed country and does not have the flexible labor markets of northern Europe and their outcomes which are not a surprise to anyone does not have the same economic output of those in Northern Europe or other parts of the developed world. The reason why they weathered the 2008 financial crisis better than the Americans because they do not subsidize home loans like the Americans do. They are more neo-liberal in that regard not less. The indians are restricted by it's laws... exactly laws and institutions matter. Their laws restrict ownership of private property therefore they higher levels of poverty. Democratic socialist countries like Germany Sweden do not have restrictions on ownership of private property and are. Venezuela does have heavy restrictions on prices and ownership of private property and it's The sample is too small. all Native American groups are desperately poor. Mexico has been socialist the Mexican workers leave their country and work in the US and they have had great success. It's the laws and institutions that matter.

@DavidWilliamsaz

8 жыл бұрын

vadllens01 It's not a simplistic assumption that the ownership of property and incentives matter. Native Americans have living standards that are a national disgrace and close to those in the developing world.

@DavidWilliamsaz

8 жыл бұрын

Ghonosyphlaids No i am not voting for Trump. Again it's the economic system that matters. They are marginalized because of socialism. They are marginalized because they don't have the right to create their own business. The Tribe decides which businesses can and cannot be in the reservation by some central plan. What is clear is that you would rather engage in name calling and you really don't have a clue what you're talking about.

I will change my kid to another school the moment they mention they are busy reading Rawls in school.

@1funkyflyguy

5 жыл бұрын

Why's that then?

The topic of John Rawls came up while I was a university student. I enjoyed studying political theory but haven't read that much of John Rawls' theories.

This one was actually good. Thanks.

I am not convinced this method doesn't have flaws, that is a presumption on your part. Perhaps it is due to the simplification of such an issue being presented in an 7 min video. Here is one reason why I say this: If we were all able start off equal, then how do ideas like being rewarded based on your merits not disrupt the "fairness" of the world. Yet If we do not have meritocracy, then how is it "fair" that some whom are more talented or work harder than others, do not get rewarded more for things. This presents the issue of a continuous cycle because if we do reward them the world becomes unfair. If we do not reward them, the world becomes unfair.

@durand101

7 жыл бұрын

Are you saying that some people are more deserving to be born into a rich family than others? Because that's the crux of the problem. Right now, our society does not have equality of opportunity. If you were born rich, you have available so many more opportunities to get richer - better education, better healthcare, more free time.., whereas if you were born poor, this is not the case. And this completely ignores race or gender discrimination... In more egalitarian societies, the income of your parents correlates much less with your own income. This is how a meritocracy should work.

@ChrisDoesTV

7 жыл бұрын

Durand D'souza No I am not saying that. I am talking about people deserve to be rewarded for the effort they put in. Part of that effort reflects on the future of your own off spring and this is a symptom of such things. Would it be right to deny those who put in the effort to not be allowed to give their children the best start? And this is where the dilemma comes from and the main flaw of the idea presented in the video.

@durand101

7 жыл бұрын

Well, I think there is a spectrum of opinions here but I personally believe that no child should be discriminated against simply because his or her parents did not work as hard as another's. In my mind, there is no dilemma there.. I also think that there are limits to equality. Like you said, there has to be some sort of reflection on your hard work and that's why I don't believe in a 100% inheritance tax. At the same time, our current society is so far in the opposite direction that the majority of kids are massively discriminated against because they have the misfortune of being born to poor parents. And the worst thing about this is that their parents also had the misfortune of being born to poor parents. Here's a good explanation: www.epi.org/publication/usa-lags-peer-countries-mobility/

@ChrisDoesTV

7 жыл бұрын

Durand D'souza You are not getting what I am saying at all. It isn't about should - people will start life at different economic foundations due to what has happened prior to their birth. Yes in an ideal world we would all be rich and have luxuries and find a way to be rewarded for our effort but that isn't reality. Those who have inheritance should not be taxed in my opinion because it is the person who has amassed such wealth, it is their money and they have chosen to pass it on. The state have no right in stealing from them to give to someone else. So your solution although noble would still discriminate because their parents worked harder or had more opportunity than someone else. This is the exact issue and flaw of Rawl's theory. So should is an ideal but not a reality and one where the dynamics as of yet would cause some form of discrimination based on the current structure (and so far any structures we have been able to invent)

@durand101

7 жыл бұрын

Tabby D Your system is basically like the feudal system we had before democracy took hold. It ended with rich people getting their head chopped off (if you remember). The reasons we tax inheritance are pretty simple. Wealth distorts power and the rich are a problem for democracy. You can already see how undemocratic countries with large amounts of wealth inequality are, for example. Are you saying that you would be happy to be born into a poor family in the US (a country where poor people have low life expectancies, low chances to get advance, etc)?

John Rawls is wrong. This is the first time I head about this guy but he totally ignores choice. You are not chained to the circumstances of your birth. You can go move to Scottsdale and learn the skills to be a orthodontist. It may be hard but it's not impossible. You can make the choice to go to a library when your education sucks. Our choices effect our lives a hell of a lot more than the circumstances of our birth. What really hurts people is people like John Rawls effecting legislation that gets adopted by society that tells educates people that it doesn't matter what they do it only matters who they are and where they were born. That turns into a toxic mindset. It robs people of hope for their lives and the future. If there's no hope there's no use trying to improve. I say this being born to a single mother in Detroit on the west side not the east.

@barneyh4558

8 жыл бұрын

You're ignoring that he was originally a statistician. Meaning he analysed life outcomes against family income and realised that the tiny amount of rags to riches stories are anomalies. Well done for your career, but the vast majority of people raised in the working classes will be stuck in the same rut as their parents were, with no chance of moving up in the world. Thomas Piketty wrote a bestseller about how our societies in the last 40 years have only got worse in this aspect. Capital, that is past from generation to generation (often in the form of real estate in the UK & France), is the greatest indicator of success.

@TheManiJo

8 жыл бұрын

Excuse me, but may I ask what you do? What kind of career do you have? Are you a student? If so, what school do you attend?

@zeromega4541

8 жыл бұрын

Ahmani Joseph I have a B.A in economics from a Penn State. Needed a change so now work as a sous chef.

@zeromega4541

8 жыл бұрын

***** Correlation doesn't mean causation. I'm not familiar with Rawls work so I don't know the variables he used in his research to come to this conclusion like what was his metric for rags to riches. Was it the lowest rung of the socio-economic ladder to the top because I could see how that could be a rare anomaly. Because upward mobility is usually more gradual. There's a old economic saying "Three generations from shirt sleeves to shirt sleeves. I can't stay what variables he used or if he just used pure statical analysis. As for Thomas picketty I he's right on the fact that it's harder for people to move up in the world but I disagree with everything else. He's a kaynesen I'm Austrian school it's bound to happen. I believe whole heartedly in the free market. Competition leads to innovating which leads to jobs which leads to competition for the best employees which leads to higher wages. It's a tried and true system which lead the western world to have a standard of living that is unimaginable elsewhere. The problem is regulation and government interference with the free market. There's all these rules most of them don't make any sense which makes it increasingly difficult for people to start and compete with large well established industries. Which kills competition. No competition no innovation or higher wages. Also with the taxes the way they are especially in Europe a large portion of wages go to social safety net which I believe would be cheaper if the free market were allowed to run those industries. There's a lot more variables but I think I'm done.

@gagarine42

8 жыл бұрын

"harder for poor than rich" you go pretty close to the definition of unfairness. You can be a midget and plays basketball but seriously it's really unfair. It's not impossible to be the best player in the word but rater difficult. Comparing TAX is not interesting, you should compare the difference between your disposable income and your income because if you have low tax but have to put so much in private health insurance it's not better. Say that, TAXs are not really higher in Europe, we just don't spend it all in the army. As you have some economics class you know money value diminishing the more you have, so by redistribution you actually increase the value of money! Free market is good, but in some area you have market failure (monopolistic situation, externality) in those case having an intervention make total sens. I taught Penn State was better than that...

THIS CHANNEL IS AMAZING!!!!!!!!!

This idea raises many questions that are more difficult to deal with.

Hinduism has a concept of Kharma.. Similar to this. It says "You never know what kind of circumstances you're born into in your next birth. If you're treated bad and are suffering in this birth, that's because of your previous birth's Karma. So do some good deeds now, exactly how you'd expect people to do to you in your next birth and earn karma credits.. You'll be treated the way you treated others in this birth.. " There is almost a lookup table for every kind of Karma (deed) the reaction/reward you get in the next birth.. I know, this sounds irrational and I know this is totally spiritual and it's up to the one, to believe it or not, but the concept, intention and the moral values are expected to work..

@wade2bosh

5 жыл бұрын

this is a horrible and evil concept that blames the poor for their poverty

@BharCode09

5 жыл бұрын

No. You didn't get the real intention and meaning. What Karma and it's associated "Next Birth" concept is similar to "veil of ignorance". Since we believe in next birth, and we don't know how/what are we going to be born as, we may be born to a poor family, in a not so well developed country/state and etc etc.. So, Karma expects us to behave well and take advantage of the privileges we have got in the current birth and do good deeds in this current birth. Deeds includes "helping poor, being empathetic, respecting etc etc" all that you expect others to treat you in you next birth, all these give credit points for you in this birth which you can leverage in next birth. Of course it may not be true and no certainty, but that's the moral we included in the Karma belief.

@udaybharadwaj9387

5 жыл бұрын

@wade2bosh Actually it does. The Karma philosophy actually does blame the poor for their poverty. But it also talks about the possibility of coming out of that situation by performing the right actions necessary. We are given money. To invest it or expend it totally depends on us.

so rawls figured out life isnt fair? How many years of college did that take?

@gagarine42

8 жыл бұрын

Nop, he describes a simple experiment to make better choice about "what's fair". Watch the video again... and perhaps read his book.

@bessyxyz

7 жыл бұрын

jason this has implications on public policy.

@jamesclement8985

6 жыл бұрын

Lol. I had to stop to give this a thumbs up.

@BJ-zd2or

6 жыл бұрын

There is this phrase called the "Just-World Hypothesis." Where people think we live in a Just world. It's the balance that settles us all. And yes we all like to think bad guys get what they deserve and good guys go up the ladder. But speaking of ladder everyone wants to go up the ladder, reputation, presentation image what we want our society. TV (National TV) seems to create a narrative, stereotypes, archetypes of people that we watch are bad and appearance take as value, we take in fiction in more then reality. And people do do that. It's what makes sense to us within the chaos of randomness that goes on in the world. But the Conclusion what we want: to live in a just fair world. We all want it and there's nothing wrong with that. It's what we differ in value of who that person is. Our prosit ion is our sense what we know and comfort, but to others their experience are alone (like us and what we think should be) I like to think a homeless man or woman or people from the army has a home and that we value them to get into society. Their a tough bunch.

@jh7176

6 жыл бұрын

jason “haha poor people are more likely to die and starve in the US than compared to welfare states like Sweden or Norway but life is unfair haha lol get over it.”

Hi, Great channel, Can you please make a video on Richard Rorty and his book Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature ?

This is a good series.