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John RawlsA Theory of Justice
Nonfiction | Reference/Text Book | Adult | Published in 1971A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Key Figures
John Rawls
John Rawls (1921-2002) was a moral and political philosopher in the liberal tradition. He was born on February 21, 1921, in Baltimore, Maryland, and died on November 24, 2002, in Lexington, Massachusetts. He studied at Princeton University, completing his undergraduate studies before serving in the US Army during World War II. After the war, he returned to Princeton, earning his doctorate in philosophy in 1950. As a professor, Rawls taught at various institutions, including Cornell University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and ultimately Harvard University, where he spent most of his career.
Rawls’s work is most famously associated with his 1971 book, A Theory of Justice. Here, Rawls introduced the concept of “justice as fairness,” which sought to establish principles of justice that could reconcile the demands of liberty and equality in a democratic society. His use of the “original position” and the “veil of ignorance” as thought experiments to determine just principles marked a significant departure from utilitarianism, which had previously dominated Anglo-American moral philosophy. Rawls’s theory emphasized the importance of individual rights and proposed that inequalities should only be permitted if they benefit the least advantaged members of society.
Rawls’s later works, including Political Liberalism (1993) and The Law of Peoples (1999), further explored the implications of his theories for pluralistic societies and international relations. He received the Rolf Schock Prize in Logic and Philosophy and the National Humanities Medal, both in 1999. Rawls published A Theory of Justice in 1971 and the work is credited with the rebirth of normative political philosophy.
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) was a German philosopher and is widely regarded as one of the most important figures in Western philosophy. Kant was born in Königsberg, East Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia), where he pursued his education and academic career. He studied at the University of Königsberg and later became a professor there, teaching a wide range of subjects, including metaphysics, logic, and ethics.
Kant is best known for his work in epistemology and ethics, particularly his Critique of Pure Reason (1781), where he sought to address the limitations and capabilities of knowledge. He argued that while human experience is shaped by how the mind processes information, certain fundamental concepts, such as time and space, are innate to human understanding.
In ethics, Kant is famous for his formulation of the “categorical imperative,” a principle that suggests that actions are moral if they can be universally applied and respect the inherent dignity of all individuals. His ethical theories emphasize duty, autonomy, and the importance of rationality in moral decision-making. Rawls bases much of his theory of justice as fairness in Kantian ethics, highlighting the importance of judging actions’ morality rather than their intended ends.
Aristotle
Aristotle (384–322 BCE) was an ancient Greek philosopher whose work has profoundly influenced Western thought. In particular, his Nicomachean Ethics became the foundation of modern moral philosophy. Named after his son Nicomachus, the work explores the nature of human happiness and the means to achieve a virtuous life. Aristotle argues that the ultimate goal of human existence is “eudaimonia,” often translated as happiness or flourishing. This state is achieved not through the pursuit of pleasure or wealth but through the cultivation of virtues, which are traits of character that lie between extremes of excess and deficiency.
In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle introduces the concept of the “golden mean,” which suggests that virtue is found in moderation between excess and deficiency. For example, courage is a virtue that lies between the extremes of recklessness and cowardice. Aristotle emphasizes that virtues are habits developed through practice and that a virtuous life requires practical wisdom, or “phronesis,” to make the right decisions in varying circumstances.
Aristotle’s ethical theory is rooted in his belief that humans are rational beings who find fulfillment in using reason as the basis for actions. Rawls uses Aristotelian ethics in his conception of justice as fairness and in defining the requirements of moral action.
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