An Interpretation Of The Evolution Of Rawis’ Sense Of Justice

Rawls’ theoretical system of justice has long been highly concerned and deeply studied by the academic circles,but compared with Rawls’ two principles of justice,the original state and the veil of ignorance,the concept of sense of justice has been intentionally or unintentionally ignored by the academic circles because of the controversy caused by the efficacy of proving the stability of the principle of justice.However,as a sense of social members,the concept of sense of justice directly constitutes the interactive link between the basic social structure system implemented by the principle of justice and social members,abandoning the subjective feedback of social members and talking arbitrarily about the justice of social basic structure,it’s the biggest misunderstanding of Rawls.Therefore,this thesis attempts to focus on Rawls’ theory of Justice and political Liberalism,rediscovers the concept of sense of justice and its evolution,and reveal the change of Rawls’ system of justice through the evolution of the concept of sense of justice itself,in order to form a comprehensive understanding of Rawls’ theory of justice.In the Theory of Justice,Rawls places high hopes on the sense of justice and regards it as a kind of ethical virtue.First of all,in terms of connotation,the sense of justice not only has a strong desire to act in accordance with the principle of justice,but also accompanied by the tendency to correct others at the expense of their own interests when others violate the principle of justice(that is,the extra behavior mentioned by Rawls).At the same time,the three kinds of psychology accompanied by the sense of justice,namely guilt,dissatisfaction and righteous indignation,constitute the concept of a strong sense of justice.Secondly,in terms of nature,Rawls tries to prove the consistency of justice and goodness,deduces the moral psychological path of cultivating the sense of justice,and holds that the ultimate goal of the sense of justice is to build a just social union.Therefore,the sense of justice itself is a kind of goodness worthy of desire.Finally,in terms of status,the sense of justice is the only tool to prove the stability of the principle of justice.In Political Liberalism,Rawls declines the concept of justice as a whole and regards it as a kind of political morality.First of all,in terms of connotation,the sense of justice is only a simple desire to act in accordance with the principle of justice,no longer has the motivation to correct,is a weak sense of justice.Secondly,in terms of nature,people act in accordance with the principle of justice only because the overlapping consensus formed by the principle of political justice is in line with the rational expectations of social members,and people do not pursue the sense of justice as a kind of good.Finally,in terms of status,the key to the stability of the principle of political justice lies in the self-limitation of the principle of justice,which has changed from holistic goodness to political justification,thus leaving room for the rational goodness of social members.At most,the sense of justice is a kind of auxiliary proof.The evolution of the concept of sense of justice in three aspects reveals the internal changes of Rawls’ theoretical system of justice.First of all,the evolution of the concept of sense of justice indicates that Rawls’ requirements for citizens have changed from good people to good citizens,and the theory of justice has changed from moral philosophy to political philosophy.Secondly,in the Theory of Justice,the sense of justice as an ethical virtue provides the proof of desirability for the principle of justice,and in the political liberalism,the sense of justice as a kind of political morality provides the feasibility proof for the principle of justice.Finally,the evolution of the sense of justice from good to just has contributed to the transformation of the system of justice from the concept of justice to the concept of mutually beneficial justice.On the other hand,the transformation of the concept of sense of justice reflects Rawls’ rethinking about the relationship between politics and morality,and enlightens the human requirements of modern civilized society.