Could do with more pictures
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In this book Rawls places the notion of justice on a form foundation. While previous thinkers have held that justice is a value to be treasured, Rawls explains not just why justice is a something to strive for, but why people actually choose it over other values. He provides powerful arguments for the reduction of inequalities and demonstrates why this also falls under the heading of justice. This is truly one of the greatest works of political philosophy of all time, and one that puts 'On Liberty' in the shade. As Nozik said of Rawls in Anarchy, the State and Utopia "It is impossible to finish his book without a new and inspiring vision of what a moral theory may attempt to do and unite; of how beautiful a whole theory can be"
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A brief remark to the previous reviewer
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John Rawls' 'A Theory of Justice' is probably the most influential book in contemporary political philosophy. Among other things, Rawls introduced an alternative to the dominating non-cognitive theories in ethics and meta-ethics, which were embraced by moral philosphers after Moore, Ayer etc. The book provides an innovative theory founded on a wide range of plausible and well-established arguments for liberal equality. A book that has had such an influence on modern philosophy deserves five stars, no less. In regards to the above comment: Stating that Nozick completely refutes Rawls' theory in 'Anarchy, State, and Utopia' is not only a wild exaggeration, but a fairly controversial claim. Certainly, Rawls' theory encounters difficulties, but this is hardly surprising. Conversely, if anyone has been successfully refuted it is Nozick, who today, has abandoned a wide range of the views he put forward in 'Anarchy, State, and Utopia'. However, even though opinions on Rawls' theory may diverge, it is certain that moral, political, and legal philosophers today agree that 'A Theory of Justice' is an all-important work. Thus, to the extent that one is interested in contemporary moral, political or legal philosophy, reading 'A Theory of Justice' is an absolute must read.
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A difficult masterpeice
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This is an extremely rich and thoroughly dense work of moral and political philosophy. It is regarded in philosophy departments across the anglo-saxon world as the greatest single work of moral or political philosophy of the 20th Century and certainly deserves its accolades. I will not pretend to have read the whole thing, and anyone who claims to is frankly a liar. But the crux is basically an overhaul of traditional liberalism, bringing to moral and political thought a complicated and profoundly rational structure. This structure then acts by weighing up various political or moral issues facing the modern world, allowing us to see which is more just. The key principle resulting is 'justice as fairness.' The starting point is the rational decision agents would come to over matters, when impeded by a 'veil of ignorance' as to who or where they are in society. The decisions they then may or may not make constitute the bulk of the book and are vastly intricate. At the other end, Rawls comes up with a liberal model for society with a maximin principle governing it. The greatest moral imperative being the maximising of the worst off. It is arguable whether the rigmarole Rawls goes through is worth it for such an obvious and relatively uninteresting principle. But the rigmarole is the point, since it sures up a left of centre political philosophy against the right wingers who would attack it (notably Nozick in 'Anarchy, State and Utopia'.) The work is undoubtedly a masterpeice, though less enjoyable to the general reader than some good old Marx, Rousseau or Mill.
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This classic on moral philosphy is an essential buy.
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John Rawls was deservingly noted for his contributions to philosophy with the National Humanities Medal in 1999. This remarkable book examines justice in society through the prisms of utilitarianism and social contract theory: evaluating the two it clearly argues for the recognition of "individual" experience. It is drawn from journal essays written over a number of years, and is divided into three parts: Theory, Institutions, and Endsthink. This revised edition is one of the most substantial contributions to moral philosophy of the past few decades. It is a very persuasive book, being very well argued and carefully composed, with possible objections and counterarguments fairly weighed and considered: at the same time it conveys a moral vision and a ruling idea, maintaining the strongly marked personal attitude to experience. Although the book is firmly within the traditions of analytical philosophy, and has the virtues of this genre, there is no pretense of a degree of precision that the subject matter does not admit.
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a great theory only...not realistic enough.
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I do think John Rawls' theory of the veil of ignorance is a good one, it is a way of setting justice in a society. From there he creates two principles which he assume are the basis of justice. I only have doubts on how he wants this veil of ignorance to be realistic. This is why my rate is ****.
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