John Rawls by Catherine Audard

John Rawls by Catherine Audard

John 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.

Audard's book offers a concise reading of John Rawls's political philosophyIt is all at once instructive, pedagogical, provocative, and well informed... it will play an important role in the future for Rawls scholarship and must be taken very seriously by all Rawlsian scholars. - Ethics An impressive book, written by someone who has an extensive and deep appreciation of Rawls' work. It offers a nuanced discussion of his central ideas, proceeding nicely from a discussion of A Theory of Justice through to Rawls' account of international political morality. - Matthew Clayton, University of Warwick

Catherine Audard, London School of Economics, UK

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781844650514
ISBN 10	1844650510
Title	John Rawls
Author	Catherine Audard
Series	Philosophy Now
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Routledge
Year published	2006-12-19
Number of pages	272
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.