John Rawls
Source: Wikipedia: John Rawls
Philosophy & Thought • Historical Archive • 🇺🇸 United States • 1 views

John Rawls 🇺🇸

John Bordley Rawls
["Political Philosopher", "Ethicist", "Author of A Theory of Justice"]
Born Feb 21, 1921 🇺🇸 Baltimore (Maryland), United States
Passed Away Nov 24, 2002 Lexington (Massachusetts), United States
Lifespan 81 years old
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Notice / Correction
"Justice is the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought."

Archival Overview

American political philosopher whose 1971 masterpiece A Theory of Justice revived normative political philosophy, introducing the 'veil of ignorance' and 'justice as fairness'.

Biographical Record

After serving in the Pacific infantry during World War II and witnessing the ruins of Hiroshima, John Rawls (1921–2002) dedicated his academic career at Harvard to answering how a just and free society can be established. In 'A Theory of Justice' (1971), he proposed the thought experiment of the 'Original Position'.

Behind a 'veil of ignorance'—where no one knows their social class, race, gender, or natural talents—rational individuals would agree on two fundamental principles: maximum equal basic liberties for all, and socioeconomic inequalities arranged to benefit the least advantaged (the Difference Principle).

Key Life Milestones

1971

A Theory of Justice

Published the monumental work revitalizing social contract theory and liberal egalitarianism.

1993

Political Liberalism

Formulated the concept of overlapping consensus in pluralistic constitutional democracies.

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Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial
Mount Auburn Cemetery
Cambridge (Massachusetts), United States
GPS: 42.3703, -71.1467
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