John Rawls was an American philosopher, one of the most influential of the 20th century in political and moral philosophy. His Theory of Justice (1971) profoundly renewed thinking about social justice and political liberalism.
John Rawls(1921 — 2002)
John Rawls
États-Unis
6 min read
Frequently asked questions
Famous Quotes
« Justice is the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought.»
Key Facts
- Born in 1921 in Baltimore (Maryland) and died in 2002.
- Published his Theory of Justice in 1971, a major work of contemporary political philosophy.
- Developed the concepts of the “original position” and the “veil of ignorance” to ground principles of fair justice.
- Professor of philosophy at Harvard University for several decades.
- Published Political Liberalism in 1993, extending and revising his theory.
Works & Achievements
First statement of his central idea: justice must be conceived as fairness. This article foreshadows all of his future work.
His masterpiece, which puts forward the two principles of justice and the “veil of ignorance.” Single-handedly, it revived political philosophy in the 20th century.
Here Rawls explains how a just society can hold together despite citizens' deep disagreement about religion and morality, thanks to the “overlapping consensus.”
Rawls extends his theory of justice to the relations between peoples and nations, sketching out an international justice.
A collection of his Harvard courses on Kant, Hume, Leibniz, and Hegel, showing his talent as a teacher.
His final synthesis, more accessible, in which Rawls restates and clarifies his entire theory in light of the criticisms he received.
Anecdotes
During the Second World War, John Rawls served as a soldier in the Pacific, notably in the Philippines and Japan. After Hiroshima, deeply affected by the war and by the death of his comrades, he abandoned his plan to become a priest and lost the religious faith of his youth.
As a child, Rawls lived through two tragedies that haunted him all his life: two of his brothers died of illnesses (diphtheria, then pneumonia) that they had caught from him. Some biographers see this as one of the roots of his obsession with the injustice of chance and of the “natural lottery.”
To write his Theory of Justice, Rawls devised a famous thought experiment: the “veil of ignorance.” He asks us to imagine people choosing the rules of their society without knowing whether they will be rich or poor, men or women, healthy or sick — so as to guarantee rules that are fair for everyone.
Rawls stuttered and hated speaking in public or giving interviews. Reserved to the point of shyness, he almost always declined media honors, so much so that he was nicknamed the most influential philosopher no one outside the university had ever heard of.
In 1999, President Bill Clinton awarded him the National Humanities Medal, declaring that Rawls had “single-handedly revived” political and moral philosophy in the United States and helped an entire generation believe in democracy once again.
Primary Sources
Justice is the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought.
Each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive scheme of equal basic liberties compatible with a similar scheme of liberties for others.
How is it possible for there to exist over time a just and stable society of free and equal citizens, who remain profoundly divided by reasonable yet incompatible religious, philosophical, and moral doctrines?
Peoples are to respect the freedom and independence of other peoples.
Key Places
Birthplace of John Rawls, where he grew up in a well-off family but one marked by the racial segregation of the American South.
Rawls studied here, earned his doctorate in philosophy in 1950, and began his teaching career.
Rawls taught philosophy here from 1962 to the late 1990s, shaping several generations of political philosophers.
Rawls stayed at the University of Oxford in 1952-1953 on a Fulbright scholarship, where he encountered the British moral philosophy that would influence his work.
A town in the Boston suburbs where Rawls spent his final years and died in 2002.
Typical Objects
Rawls endlessly rewrote his texts by hand, accumulating dozens of corrected versions before publication. His drafts bear witness to work of extreme meticulousness.
The thick book published in 1971, which became a classic taught throughout the world. His working copy was covered with marginal notes.
A daily tool of the Harvard teacher, on which Rawls would sketch out his principles of justice in front of his students. He preferred exchanges in small seminars to large lectures.
Like most academics of his time, Rawls typed his articles and chapters on a typewriter before the era of the personal computer.
Rawls wore the uniform of an ordinary soldier in the Pacific between 1943 and 1945. This experience of war lastingly shaped his moral thinking.
A baseball enthusiast, Rawls loved the sport so much that he spoke of it as the best-designed game ever invented. Baseball was one of his few pastimes.
School Curriculum
Vocabulary & Tags
Key Vocabulary
Tags
Daily Life
Morning
Rawls began early, devoting his best hours to writing in his study, surrounded by books and drafts. Methodical, he progressed slowly, reworking each sentence until it was perfect.
Afternoon
Afternoons were often reserved for teaching at Harvard, where he led small-group seminars. He preferred listening to and discussing with his students rather than holding forth in large lectures.
Evening
In the evening, Rawls would rejoin his wife Margaret (Mard) and read. Reserved and home-loving, he shunned social life and the spotlight, preferring the quiet of the family home.
Food
An academic of postwar middle-class America, Rawls ate simply and without excess. Nothing in his life suggested a taste for luxury or fine dining.
Clothing
Rawls dressed plainly, in the manner of American professors of his time: a jacket, shirt, and understated tie. His modest appearance reflected his natural reserve.
Housing
He lived in an ordinary house in the Boston suburb of Lexington, Massachusetts. His quiet surroundings suited his studious and retiring temperament.
Historical Timeline
Period Vocabulary
Liens externes & ressources
Références
Œuvres
La justice comme équité (article)
1958
Théorie de la justice
1971
Libéralisme politique
1993
Le droit des gens
1999
Leçons sur l'histoire de la philosophie morale
2000
La justice comme équité : une reformulation
2001
