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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through The Individual Versus Society.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How does the ignorant chooser know what is fair and what is not, according to Rawls?
(a) Because they are taught what to believe.
(b) Because God told them so.
(c) Because of an innate knowledge of fairness.
(d) Because the monarch told them so.

2. What is assumed about the liberty of the Individual, according to “The Two Principles of Justice”?
(a) That it may be maximized.
(b) That it may be ignored.
(c) That it may be minimized.
(d) That it is the only important virtue.

3. What does the Individual gain out of the Social Contract?
(a) Money and wealth.
(b) Power and glory.
(c) Protection and security.
(d) Military might.

4. Why did Hobbes see the necessity of the Social Contract?
(a) Because he thought people were naturally brutish.
(b) Because he thought that was the law of nature.
(c) Because he thought people were stupid.
(d) Because he thought it would help the British Empire.

5. What is the Veil of Ignorance in Rawls' argument?
(a) A metaphor for a different type of belief.
(b) A metaphor to describe different types of citizens.
(c) A garment worn by politicians.
(d) A metaphor for not being able to tell what kind of society one will later be in.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the implicit assumption that the Social Contract theory makes?

2. Why does Utilitarian thinking not really understand the difference between persons?

3. In the chapter “The Original Position,” what does Rawls say must be assumed about the person?

4. What does Rawls believe is the dominant theory of political philosophy throughout the 20th Century?

5. How many principles of justice does the Original Position later result in?

(see the answer key)

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