John RawlsJohn Rawls (1921-2002) is one of the most influential thinkers of the twentieth century. Contemporary political philosophy has been reshaped by his seminal ideas and most current work in the discipline is a response to them. This book introduces his central ideas and examines their contribution to contemporary political thought. In the first part of the book Catherine Audard focuses on Rawls' conception of political and social justice and its justification as presented in his groundbreaking A Theory of Justice. This includes sustained examination of Rawls' moral philosophy and its core thesis, the primacy of justice, the complex relation between Rawls' views and utilitarianism, and his most famous concept, the Original Position Device. In the second half of the book, Audard explores Rawls' more practical concerns for stability and political consensus, citizenship and international justice, and shows the continuity between these concerns and his earlier work. Throughout, Audard contextualizes Rawls' ideas by giving a sense of their historical development, which underlines the intellectual cohesion of his thought. The move between ethics and politics so characteristic of Rawls' work, and which makes for the richness of his philosophy, is shown to also create for it significant problems. John Rawls combines clear exposition with insightful analysis and provides an interpretative and critical framework that will help shape ongoing debates surrounding Rawls' work. |
Contents
The primacy of justice | 25 |
Constructing the principles of justice | 79 |
The argument from | 123 |
Copyright | |
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agreement appeal argument autonomy basic liberties basic structure basis Cambridge Chapter choice ciples citizens citizenship claims communitarian comprehensive doctrines conception of justice concern conflicts constitutional contractarian cooperation cosmopolitan criterion criticism critique cultural debate decent defence democracy democratic society developed difference principle distinction distributive justice economic Ethics free and equal freedom G. A. Cohen global Habermas human rights ibid idea ideal impartiality important individual inequalities institutions interests JAFR John Rawls judgements justice as fairness Kant Kantian least fortunate major maximin means mutual advantage nature non-liberal normative overlapping consensus Pareto efficiency parties peace political conception Political Liberalism political philosophy principles of justice priority of justice public conception public reason question rational Rawls reciprocity reflective equilibrium religious republicanism respect role sense of justice simply social contract stability Theory of Justice tion traditional understand University Press utilitarianism utility principle values veil of ignorance well-ordered