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    A Study Guide for John Rawls's "A Theory of Justice"
    A Study Guide for John Rawls's "A Theory of Justice"
    A Study Guide for John Rawls's "A Theory of Justice"
    Ebook39 pages29 minutes

    A Study Guide for John Rawls's "A Theory of Justice"

    By Gale and Cengage

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    About this ebook

    A Study Guide for John Rawls's "A Theory of Justice," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Nonfiction Classics for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Nonfiction Classics for Students for all of your research needs.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCengage Learning - Gale
    Release dateSep 20, 2016
    ISBN9781535817356
    A Study Guide for John Rawls's "A Theory of Justice"

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      A Study Guide for John Rawls's "A Theory of Justice" - Gale

      1

      A Theory of Justice

      John Rawls

      1971

      Introduction

      A Theory of Justice (1971), by John Rawls, is one of the most influential works in moral and political philosophy written in the twentieth century, according to Samuel Freeman in the Collected Papers of John Rawls (1999).

      A Theory of Justice is Rawls's attempt to formulate a philosophy of justice and a theoretical program for establishing political structures designed to preserve social justice and individual liberty. Rawls writes in reaction to the then predominant theory of utilitarianism, which posits that justice is defined by that which provides the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Rawls proposes a theoretical person who, shrouded in a veil of ignorance, must design a just society without foreknowledge of his or her own status in that society. Rawls asserts that from this objective vantage point, which he calls the original position, the individual will choose a system of justice that adequately provides for those positioned on the lowest rungs of society. The individual will do so because he or she may end up in such a disadvantaged position and will want to be adequately provided for. Rawls draws from earlier theories of political philosophy that posit a social contract by which individuals implicitly agree to the terms on which they are governed in any society. Rawls concludes that such a social contract, formulated from the perspective of the original position, will guarantee a just society without sacrificing the happiness or liberty of any one individual.

      Rawls addresses issues of liberty, social equality, democracy, and the conflict of interests between the individual and society.

      Author Biography

      John Bordley Rawls is one of the most influential philosophers of the twentieth century. He was born on February 21, 1921, in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of William Lee Rawls and Anna Abel (Stump) Rawls. Rawls received a bachelor of arts degree from Princeton University in 1943. During World War II, he served in the military, stationed in the Pacific. He attended Cornell University for a year from 1947-1948 and earned a doctorate from Princeton in 1950. In 1949, he married Margaret Warfield Fox, with whom he had four

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