[...]... clarity of exposition and a sharp focus on the core elements of his theory of social justice ( justice as fairness) This means that I must leave aside much interesting work: Rawls s writings on the history of moral and political philosophy, for example, and his views on civil disobedience and conscientious refusal I touch only lightly on his writings on moral theory and on his political constructivism, and. .. reflection Rawls revised, refined, and extended his theory to the very end In grasping his theory of social justice, we can understand what it means to make genuine and credible moral judgments backed by a moral conception one has fully thought through And by appreciating Rawls s dedication to this project, we can understand the fundamental element of being a just person Rawls s theory, with its vast scope and. .. philosophers were part of a much larger humanities faculty Rawls 18 john rawls: his life and theory of justice Figure 1.4 Rawls with wife Mardy and their children, Ithaca, N.Y., 1959 decided to accept the offer to become the only tenured philosopher at MIT This enabled him to develop his friendships at Harvard (especially with Burton Dreben) and to continue his old friendships with Albritton and with Sachs... to political theory and has drawn many young people into these fields to join the debates it began A Theory of Justice is a true classic, likely to be read and taught for many decades to come We begin with a sketch of the life and personality of the man John Rawls, whose work has had such a profound and worldwide impact Immediately striking about Rawls was his extraordinary intellectual and moral integrity... briefly on how his theory might address the claims of the disabled and historical wrongs (against women and people of color, especially) I do not discuss Rawls s late extension of his theory to international relations, because I could not construct a sufficiently convincing account of it I follow Rawls in setting aside our moral obligations relating to animals and the rest of nature Finally, like Rawls, I... four years of his schooling 8 john rawls: his life and theory of justice The boarding school Jack attended from 1935 to 1939 was the Kent School in western Connecticut, a strictly religious boys’ school in the High Church Episcopal tradition headed by a monk of the Poughkeepsie-based Order of the Holy Cross This principal was a severe and dogmatic man, who left little freedom to his teachers and students... Princeton, writing his dissertation under the supervision of Walter Stace [After completing his philosophical education in Dublin, Stace had become mayor of Colombo, the capital of Ceylon (today Sri Lanka), and, despite his of cial duties, had continued his philosophical studies, especially of Berkeley and Hegel, and even biography 15 written a book, The Theory of Knowledge and Existence.] Rawls s thesis... of justice 16 john rawls: his life and theory of justice 1.3 Academic Career Rawls taught the following two years (1950–52) as an instructor in the Princeton philosophy department This was the time of the McCarthy accusations and hearings, from which Princeton was, however, largely insulated Despite his teaching obligations, Rawls continued his studies outside philosophy In the fall of 1950, he attended... questions about his biography and the details of his thought The biographical account of chapter 1 is based mainly on taped interviews with him conducted in the summer of 1993 He read and commented on this chapter himself xii preface And so did his wife, Mardy Rawls, who has helped me greatly, frequently, and cheerfully in revising and updating this account for the present volume and also in finding and selecting... mainly to the completion of A Theory of Justice (TJ ) Rawls sought to combine the work on this book with his teaching duties as much as possible Some of his courses were based, in part, on drafts of the book, which were sometimes biography 19 distributed to the students Rawls also used his courses for the study of the great historical figures of political philosophy, beginning in his first year at Harvard . class="bi x0 y0 w0 h1" alt="" JOHN RAWLS This page intentionally left blank JOHN RAWLS His Life and Theory of Justice thomas pogge Translated by Michelle Kosch 1 2007 3 Oxford University Press,. constructivism, and only briefly on how his theory might address the claims of the disabled and historical wrongs (against women and people of color, especially). I do not discuss Rawls s late extension of his. preparation of this book. What impressed me most in Rawls was the exceptional intellectual and moral honesty and thoroughness with which he pursued the de- velopment of his theory of justice. Moral