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Uncertainty behind the Veil of Ignorance

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  • KURTULMUS, A. FAIK

Abstract

This article argues that the decision problem in the original position should be characterized as a decision problem under uncertainty even when it is assumed that the denizens of the original position know that they have an equal chance of ending up in any given individual's place. It supports this claim by arguing that (a) the continuity axiom of decision theory does not hold between all of the outcomes the denizens of the original position face and that (b) neither us nor the denizens of the original position can know the exact point at which discontinuity sets in, because the language we employ in comparing different outcomes is ineradicably vague. It is also argued that the account underlying (b) can help proponents of superiority in value theory defend their view against arguments offered by Norcross and Griffin.

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  • Kurtulmus, A. Faik, 2012. "Uncertainty behind the Veil of Ignorance," Utilitas, Cambridge University Press, vol. 24(1), pages 41-62, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:utilit:v:24:y:2012:i:01:p:41-62_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Antoinette BAUJARD & Muriel GILARDONE, 2020. "Reconciling agency and impartiality: positional views as the cornerstone of Sen’s idea of justice," Economics Working Paper from Condorcet Center for political Economy at CREM-CNRS 2020-03-ccr, Condorcet Center for political Economy.

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