“You must know that when power is vested in humanity, prejudices often prevent them from doing justice. A human’s decisions are warped by selfishness. Remember, if you are called on to judge between two members of the Order in the execution of our laws, seek to divest yourself of all prejudice and partiality.” – 1797 Odd Fellows Ritual
Here’s a thought experiment called “The Veil of Ignorance.”
Imagine that you and a group of Odd Fellows have been tasked with developing the rules and structures for a new society—laws, social norms, and the distribution of resources. How could you create a system that gives everyone a fair chance at improving their lives?
The social compact (this term is found in ritual) your group designs during the experiment should aim to maximize individual liberty without infringing on the freedoms of others. It should ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to prosper. If there are social or economic differences in your new society, they should be structured to benefit those who are worse off. Additionally, any advantages within the social compact should be accessible to everyone, ensuring fairness.
Once you’ve designed this new society, you will be required to live in it. However, you won’t know your role in this society. You won’t know if you’ll be rich or poor, employed or unemployed, or even what your skin color, gender, family background, or religious beliefs will be. You won’t know what talents, abilities, or preferences you’ll have, or how much intelligence or physical strength you’ll possess.
You’ll only find out when you get there.
In order to design a society that is beneficial for everyone, you must first acknowledge that all people are influenced by their personal circumstances. Your background, education, interests, and life experiences all create biases and prejudices that shape how you view the world.
Therefore, before you begin designing this society, you need to set aside your personal biases and prejudices. If you attempt to create a fair society while holding onto these biases, your new society may not reflect true equality of opportunity. It will likely contain the same biases and prejudices that distort your own perspective.
Removing these biases and prejudices to make more impartial decisions is the essence of the Veil of Ignorance. The Veil of Ignorance is a thought experiment where you design a society’s rules without knowing your own social status, in that society, ensuring fairness and impartiality. To quote from the 1797 ritual, “seek to divest yourself of all prejudice and partiality.”
What can Odd Fellowship learn from this thought experiment?
First, it highlights the challenge of achieving universal fraternalism, often referred to as “universal sisterhood and brotherhood” in Odd Fellowship literature. Creating a more just and equitable world may require you to see things differently than you do now. As an Odd Fellow, if you refuse to view the world through the eyes of others, you cannot fully honor your oaths to the Order.
Second, it teaches us that our interpretation of the world is shaped by our personal experiences, which then create our personal biases and prejudices. To truly understand others, you must strive to see life through their eyes, or “walk their road to Jericho.”
Third, the Veil of Ignorance shows how we should interact with each other in the lodge. We are all equals, and our biases and prejudices should be left at the lodge door.
Finally, when making decisions that affect others, especially those who are disadvantaged, you can use the Veil of Ignorance as a tool to ensure fairness.
By approaching difficult issues through the Veil of Ignorance, we can more fairly determine how the rules of society should be structured. And fairness is the essence of justice.
Your author:
Scott Moye is the author of the book Think Like An Odd Fellow (available on Amazon). He is an award-winning history educator. He grew up on a cotton farm and is currently a museum worker. Hobbies include: old house restoration, writing, amateur radio, Irish traditional music, Folk Punk, archery, craft beer, old spooky movies, and street performance. He is a member of Marshall Lodge #1, in Marshall, Arkansas, and a founder of Heart In Hand Blog. He resides in Little Rock, AR.
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