Growing Up: the veil of ignorance and preventing suicide

How would you design a fair society if you didn't know what place you were going to have in it?

Hey guys,

How interesting is this idea from American philosopher John Rawls?

The Veil of Ignorance (as summarised by University of Texas, Ethics Unwrapped)

All people are biased by their situations, so how can people agree on a “social contract” to govern how the world should work?

Philosopher John Rawls suggests that we should imagine we sit behind a veil of ignorance that keeps us from knowing who we are and identifying with our personal circumstances. By being ignorant of our circumstances, we can more objectively consider how societies should operate.

Two primary principles supplement Rawls’ veil of ignorance: the liberty principle and the difference principle.

According to the liberty principle, the social contract should try to ensure that everyone enjoys the maximum liberty possible without intruding upon the freedom of others.

According to the difference principle, the social contract should guarantee that everyone has an equal opportunity to prosper.

In other words, if there are any social or economic differences in the social contract, they should help those who are the worst off. And, any advantages in the contract should be available to everyone.

So, according to Rawls, approaching tough issues through a veil of ignorance and applying these principles can help us decide more fairly how the rules of society should be structured. And fairness, as Rawls and many others believe, is the essence of justice.

Really cool right....

That's all I have for you this week, aside from telling you which podcast ep is out of course (excuse: my brain isn't functioning properly today... lesson = don't underestimate the English sun... I went to Wimbledon yesterday and full body SPF 50, a hat, 4 litres of water and zero Pimms didn't stop me from getting the type of sunstroke that makes you throw up in the middle of the night. Miserable)

This week on Growing Up with Delia Burgess
Ep. 59 - Keith Hawton: Oxford psychiatrist on preventing suicide
Keith Hawton is a Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Centre for Suicide Research, University of Oxford. He practised as a consultant psychiatrist for over 30 years. Professor Hawton has been researching the causes, treatment, prevention and outcome of suicidal behaviour for over 40 years. He has published more than 500 papers and chapters and 15 books and is the recipient of numerous awards. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and has a particular interest in epidemiology and clinical management of self-harm, suicide and self-harm in adolescents, media influences on self-harm and evaluation of suicide prevention initiatives.

Highly recommend this episode for:
- anyone who has lost someone to suicide / generally wants to understand it better (I asked people who have been affected by suicide what questions they would have for Keith and he addresses these in the episode)
- anyone who is knows someone who's struggling and wants practical tips of how they can help / how to respond when someone shares what they're experiencing (including doctors...)
- for anyone who has experienced these type of thoughts and wants some helpful tools to keep one safe

In preparing for this episode I was so disheartened to realise how many people think suicide is a 'sad fact', and not necessarily preventable. Keith explains why this isn't the case and how various prevention methods are effective at saving lives (for the long term - not just momentarily). (Note to self to share Malcolm Gladwell's Sylvia Plath / town gas example next time (which Keith explains in the episode but in case you prefer to read than listen.))

xx Delia

P.S. As always feel free to forward to... someone who is interested in redesigning society (or who wants to understand suicide better)

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Hi! I'm Delia Burgess

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