Read complete books and articles on: John Rawls

Rawls, John Bordley - 1921–2002, American philosopher and political theorist, b. Baltimore, grad. Princeton (A.B., 1943; Ph.D., 1950). He taught at Princeton (1950–52), Cornell (1953–59), and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1960–62) before becoming (1962) professor of philosophy at Harvard. Rawls's chief work was A Theory of Justice (1971, 2d ed. 1999), in which he attempted, within the social contract tradition of John Locke, Jean Jacques Rousseau, and Immanuel Kant, to offer an alternative to utilitarian political philosophy (see utilitarianism). His system was developed from two basic principles: Each person has a right to the most extensive basic liberty compatible with like liberty for others, and inequalities in the distribution of wealth and power are just only when they can be reasonably expected to work to the advantage of those who are worst off. For Rawls, justice does not require equality in social position, but it does require that people share one another's fate.

Providing the social contract tradition with a formidable philosophic defense by balancing the claims of liberty and equality, Rawls's book revived interest in systematic political theory. His other works include The Law of Peoples (1999) and Lectures on the History of Moral Philosophy (2000). He restated and enlarged the arguments of his 1971 magnum opus, replying to his critics and correcting what he perceived as mistakes in the original work while aiming at a broader audience, in his Justice as Fairness (2001). Rawls's liberalism has often been compared to the conservatism of his fellow Harvard philosophy professor, Robert Nozick.

See studies by B. M. Barry (1973), R. P. Wolff (1977), D. L. Schaefer (1979), A. Pampapathy Rao (1979, 1981, and 1998), R. Martin (1985), T. W. Pogge (1989), C. Kukathas and P. Pettit (1990), J. A. Corlett, ed. (1991), R. Alejandro (1998), D. A. Dombrowski (2001), and R. B. Talisse (2001).

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15 of the Best Books and Articles on: John Rawls

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1.

The Cambridge Companion to Rawls » Read Now
by Samuel Freeman. 585 pgs.

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John Rawls is the most significant and influential moral philosopher of the twentieth century. His work has profoundly affected contemporary discussions of social, political and economic justice in philosophy, law, political science, economics and other social disciplines. In this collection of new...
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John Rawls is the most significant and influential moral philosopher of the twentieth century. His work has profoundly affected contemporary discussions of social, political and economic justice in philosophy, law, political science, economics and other social disciplines. In this collection of new essays, many of the world's leading political and moral theorists discuss the full range of Rawls's contribution to the concepts of political and economic justice, democracy, liberalism, constitutionalism and international justice.
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2.

Political Liberalism » Read Now
by John Rawls. 464 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library
3.

Debates in Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Anthology (Chap. 11 "The Domain of the Political and Overlapping Consensus" by John Rawls) » Read Now
by Derek Matravers, Jon Pike. 454 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library

This textbook reflects the buoyant state of contemporary political philosophy, and the development of the subject in the past two decades. It includes seminal papers on fundamental philosophical issues such as:the nature of social explanationdistributive justiceliberalism and...
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This textbook reflects the buoyant state of contemporary political philosophy, and the development of the subject in the past two decades. It includes seminal papers on fundamental philosophical issues such as:the nature of social explanationdistributive justiceliberalism and communitarianismcitizenship and multiculturalismnationalismdemocracycriminal justice.A range of views is represented, demonstrating the richness of the philosophical contribution to some of the most contested areas of public policy and political decision making. Each section has an introduction by the editors that situates the papers in the ongoing debate. Further Reading sections feature at the end of each chapter.Readings from the following thinkers are included:Steven Lukes, Robert Nozick, John Rawls, Bhikhu Parekh, Antony Duff, G.A. Cohen, Derek Parfit, Roger Scruton, Michael Sandel, Alasdair MacIntrye. Debates in Contemporary Political Philosophy will be a valuable resource for upper-level students interested in current thinking in this area.
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4.

On Human Rights: The Oxford Amnesty Lectures ("The Law of Peoples" by John Rawls begins on p. 41) » Read Now
by Stephen Shute, Susan Hurley. 266 pgs.

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5.

The Social Contract from Hobbes to Rawls » Read Now
by David Boucher, Paul Kelly. 276 pgs.

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6.

John Rawls, 'Political Liberalism,' in The Review of Metaphysics » Read Now
by Russell Hittinger. 18 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library
7.

Political Illiberalism: The Paradox of Disenfranchisement and the Embivalences of Rawlsian Justice, in Yale Law Journal » Read Now
by Jesse Furman. 34 pgs.

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8.

Rawlsian Justice and Workplace Republicanism, in Social Theory and Practice » Read Now
by Nien-He Hsieh. 27 pgs.

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9.

Reasonable Democracy: Jurgen Habermas and the Politics of Discourse (Chap. 5 "John Rawls and the Freedom and Equality of Citizens") » Read Now
by Simone Chambers. 250 pgs.

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10.

Boundaries and Allegiances: Problems of Justice and Responsibility in Liberal Thought (Chap. 9 "Rawls and Utilitarianism") » Read Now
by Samuel Scheffler. 224 pgs.

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11.

Foundations of Liberalism (Chap. 3 "Rawls and the Abstract Contract") » Read Now
by Margaret Moore. 224 pgs.

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This book is an original critique of contemporary liberal theories of justice, focusing on the problem of how to relate the personal point of view of the individual to the impartial perspective of justice. Moore's examination of prominent contemporary arguments for liberal justice reveals that...
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This book is an original critique of contemporary liberal theories of justice, focusing on the problem of how to relate the personal point of view of the individual to the impartial perspective of justice. Moore's examination of prominent contemporary arguments for liberal justice reveals that individualist theories are subject to two serious difficulties: the motivation problem and the integrity problem. Individualists cannot explain why the individual should be motivated to act in accordance with the dictates of liberal justice, and--related to this--offer radically incoherent accounts of the person. Revisionist attempts to ground liberalism in contextual and perfectionist terms offer more defensible foundations, but Moore argues that such theories do not support liberal political principles. She concludes by sketching a historical and concrete approach to political and ethical theorizing which reformulates the relation between self-interest and morality, and is not subject to the problems that beset liberal individualist theories of justice. Her book advances the debate between communitarians and liberals about the kind of moral foundation which a liberal society requires.
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12.

The Political Classics: Green to Dworkin (Chap. 10 "John Rawls: A Theory of Justice") » Read Now
by Murray Forsyth, Maurice Keens-Soper. 296 pgs.

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Providing a lively and informed introduction to the last hundred years of political thinking--from T.H. Green's lectures to Ronald Dworkin's Taking Rights Seriously--the third volume in the successful Political Classics series has been designed to enable all students of political ideas to gain a...
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Providing a lively and informed introduction to the last hundred years of political thinking--from T.H. Green's lectures to Ronald Dworkin's Taking Rights Seriously--the third volume in the successful Political Classics series has been designed to enable all students of political ideas to gain a fuller appreciation of the great works which form the foundation of the subject. Besides giving a full analysis of the contents of each text, this book also highlights what makes the texts of central importance to an understanding of political philosophy. The twelve chapters concentrate on the ideas contained in the texts, rather than on the lives of their writers, and each chapter is supplemented with useful suggestions for further reading.
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13.

Private Consciences and Public Reasons ("The Approach of John Rawls" begins on p. 106) » Read Now
by Kent Greenawalt. 225 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library
14.

Religious Conviction in Liberal Politics ("Rawls on Restraint" begins on p. 140) » Read Now
by Christopher J. Eberle. 405 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

What role should a citizen's religious convictions play in political activities? Christopher Eberle is deeply at odds with the dominant orthodoxy among political theorists about the relationship of religion to politics. His argument is that a citizen may responsibly base political commitments on...
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What role should a citizen's religious convictions play in political activities? Christopher Eberle is deeply at odds with the dominant orthodoxy among political theorists about the relationship of religion to politics. His argument is that a citizen may responsibly base political commitments on religious beliefs, even if the only reasons for those political commitments are religious in nature. An inherently controversial book that offers a substantial challenge to political liberalism, it will be read by students of philosophy, political science, law and religious studies.
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15.

Rawls, Neustadt, & Liberal Education: A Reflection on Two Scholars, in Liberal Education » Read Now
by Mary B. Marcy. 6 pgs.

Collections: Education, Entire Library