John Rawls (1921–2002)
Author of A Theory of Justice
About the Author
John Rawls, professor of philosophy at Harvard University, had published a number of articles on the concept of justice as fairness before the appearance of his magnum opus, A Theory of Justice (1971). While the articles had won for Rawls considerable prestige, the reception of his book thrust him show more into the front ranks of contemporary moral philosophy. Presenting a Kantian alternative to conventional utilitarianism and intuitionism, Rawls offers a theory of justice that is contractual and that rests on principles that he alleges would be accepted by free, rational persons in a state of nature, that is, of equality. The chorus of praise was loud and clear. Stuart Hampshire acclaimed the book as "the most substantial and interesting contribution to moral philosophy since the war."H. A. Bedau declared: "As a work of close and original scholarship in the service of the dominant moral and political ideology of our civilization, Rawls's treatise is simply without a rival." Rawls historically achieved two important things: (1) He articulated a coherent moral philosophy for the welfare state, and (2) he demonstrated that analytic philosophy was most capable of doing constructive work in moral philosophy. A Theory of Justice has become the most influential work in political, legal, and social philosophy by an American author in the twentieth century. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Works by John Rawls
Associated Works
The Methods of Ethics, 7th Edition (Hackett Classics) (1874) — Foreword, some editions — 261 copies, 2 reviews
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Rawls, John
- Legal name
- Rawls, John Bordley
- Birthdate
- 1921-02-21
- Date of death
- 2002-11-24
- Burial location
- Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- USA
- Country (for map)
- USA
- Birthplace
- Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Place of death
- Lexington, Massachusetts, USA
- Cause of death
- heart failure
- Places of residence
- Princeton, New Jersey, USA
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, UK
Ithaca, New York, USA
Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA - Education
- Kent School (1939)
Princeton University (BA|1943|PhD|1950)
Christ Church College, University of Oxford (Fulbright Fellowship) - Occupations
- philosopher
professor
soldier - Relationships
- Rawls, Margaret (wife)
- Organizations
- Harvard University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cornell University
Princeton University
United States Army (WWII) - Awards and honors
- National Humanities Medal (1999)
Rolf Schock Prize (1999)
Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (1974)
American Philosophical Society (1974)
Ralph Waldo Emerson Award (1972)
American Academy of Arts & Sciences (1966) (show all 8)
Fulbright Fellowship (1952)
Bronze Star (WWII)
Members
Reviews
A Theory of Justice by John Rawls
Justice is the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought. A theory however elegant and economical must be rejected or revised if it is untrue; likewise laws and institutions no matter how efficient and well-arranged must be reformed or abolished if they are unjust.
½
Borrow it for free at https://archive.org/details/justiceasfairnes0000rawl
(Open Library Project)
(Open Library Project)
1 
Jwoody1 | 5 other reviews | Dec 16, 2021 |
Jwoody1 | 5 other reviews | Dec 16, 2021 | The book that I wound up reading most often in college (my major was Ethics, Politics and Economics). It shaped my worldview and politics perhaps more than any other book ever. I am elevating it from 4 stars to 5 stars because of that, in spite of the fact that it can be a bit of a slog. With this book, Rawls reignited political theory after a period during which not much of anything new had been said for decades, but he's not exactly a brilliant prose stylist.
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Statistics
- Works
- 15
- Also by
- 5
- Members
- 5,980
- Popularity
- #4,125
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 40
- ISBNs
- 180
- Languages
- 22
- Favorited
- 17