A Brief Inquiry into the Meaning of Sin and Faith: With "On My Religion" [Hardcover]

John Rawls (Author), Thomas Nagel (Editor, Introduction), Joshua Cohen (Introduction), Robert Merrihew Adams (Commentary)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 31, 2009

John Rawls never published anything about his own religious beliefs, but after his death two texts were discovered which shed extraordinary light on the subject. A Brief Inquiry into the Meaning of Sin and Faith is Rawls’s undergraduate senior thesis, submitted in December 1942, just before he entered the army. At that time Rawls was deeply religious; the thesis is a significant work of theological ethics, of interest both in itself and because of its relation to his mature writings. “On My Religion,” a short statement drafted in 1997, describes the history of his religious beliefs and attitudes toward religion, including his abandonment of orthodoxy during World War II.

The present volume includes these two texts, together with an Introduction by Joshua Cohen and Thomas Nagel, which discusses their relation to Rawls’s published work, and an essay by Robert Merrihew Adams, which places the thesis in its theological context.

The texts display the profound engagement with religion that forms the background of Rawls’s later views on the importance of separating religion and politics. Moreover, the moral and social convictions that the thesis expresses in religious form are related in illuminating ways to the central ideas of Rawls’s later writings. His notions of sin, faith, and community are simultaneously moral and theological, and prefigure the moral outlook found in Theory of Justice.

(20090612)

Editorial Reviews

Review

What a pleasure to read John Rawls's senior thesis at Princeton, which he submitted in 1942, long before his book A Theory of Justice (1971) established him as America's most respected liberal philosopher of law. Rawls's later writings are as pareve (neutral) as could be--they have no hint of the religious passion and wisdom that permeates his senior thesis. Robert Merrihew Adams has a long accompanying essay reviewing what is the most exciting in Rawls's thesis. (Tikkun 20090831)

No recent secular moralist has been more influential than John Rawls...[A Brief Inquiry into the Meaning of Sin and Faith] undoubtedly reveals an interesting stage in the development of a highly significant philosopher.
--Anthony Kenny (Times Literary Supplement 20091117)

Allows us to see how a very intelligent believer, who once considered the priesthood, lost his Christian faith as a young man.
--James Wood (New Yorker 20091117)

[A] fascinating account of the evolution of his religious convictions.
--R. Bruce Douglass (Christian Century )

[A] fascinating account of the evolution of his religiousd convictions.
--R. Bruce Douglass (Christian Century )

About the Author

John Rawls was James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University. He was recipient of the 1999 National Humanities Medal.

Thomas Nagel is University Professor, Professor of Law, and Professor of Philosophy at New York University.

Joshua Cohen is Marta Sutton Weeks Professor of Ethics in Society at Stanford University and editor of Boston Review.

Robert Merrihew Adams is Clark Professor of Philosophy, Emeritus, Yale University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Harvard University Press (March 31, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674033310
• ISBN-13: 978-0674033313
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,045,269 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Rawls was James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University. He was recipient of the 1999 National Humanities Medal.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Brief Review, October 1, 2009

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Christopher Woznicki (UCLA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Brief Inquiry into the Meaning of Sin and Faith: With "On My Religion" (Hardcover)

A Brief Inquiry is Rawl's undergraduate thesis. You can see that he was formulating his political philosophy in this theological work. His focus on community in explaining sin and faith is an interesting take on the traditional definitions of sin and faith which involve rebellion or obedience to God. Although this interpretation of the meaning of Sin and Faith might not be the traditional one, it is orthodox nonetheless. It is interesting to see what kind of philosopher Rawls was becoming even at a young age.

7 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Real Rawls...., April 15, 2009

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Gene C. Bammel (Tucson, Arizona) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Brief Inquiry into the Meaning of Sin and Faith: With "On My Religion" (Hardcover)

Stunning book. To think of any undergraduate writing a thesis this brilliant! It gives you a chance to see the evolution of Rawls' thinking, and the introductory essays by Nagel and Adams are excellent.

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars John Rawls y Dios. Una discusión forzada (en Español), February 12, 2010

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Jesus R. ZEPEDA - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Brief Inquiry into the Meaning of Sin and Faith: With "On My Religion" (Hardcover)

A Brief Inquiery into the Meaning of Sin and Faith: With "On my Religion" plantea al menos dos problemas que no deberían desatenderse: uno relativo a la interpretación de los contenidos sustantivos de la teoría liberal de John Rawls, y otro relativo a la interpretación de la obra de Rawls como un corpus intencional y deliberado publicado o aprobado por su autor.
Resulta claro que los textos en cuestión permiten que la Introducción de la edición, a cargo de dos de los discípulos más connotados del filósofo de Harvard, sugiera una ruta de interpetación de la obra de Rawls muy poco atendida, a saber, la de una teoría política compatible, y a veces hasta asimilable, a los puntos de vista comprehensivos o sustantivos propios de las doctrinas religiosas. Este tipo de interpretación no sólo recalcaría el caracter contextual y pragmatizado del liberalismo rawlsiano, sino que avisaría de su relación muy cercana con preocupaciones teológicas o religiosas que las lecturas estandar de Rawls había considerado de poca importancia o de plano irrelevantes. En este caso, la publicación de estos dos textos, muy lejanos uno de otro en el tiempo,tendería a diluir la fuerza de la neutralidad de la justicia rawlsiana, tan vigorosamente defendida bajo el criterio de la prioridad de lo justo sobre lo bueno (the priority of the Right over the Good) o de la indepedencia de la concepción política de la justicia respecto de los contenidos de primer orden de las doctrinas comprehensivas filosóficas, religiosas o morales. No queda claro que empezar a entender a Rawls como un autor cercano a las doctrinas religiosas que él, de manera explícita, deriva hacia el espacio o dominio no público, constituya un logro teórico que hubiera que celebrar.
Respecto del segundo tema, habría que decir que el criterio de los editores de los textos es discutible. Si el propio John Rawls había optado, primero, por no dar siquiera difusión y mucho menos enviar a una editorial esa tesis de licenciatura cuyos contenidos son, en efecto, teológicos, tal vez deberíamos entender que no la consideraba parte de un cuerpo teórico que el considerara digno de poner a debate en ese espacio de razón no pública, pero esencial, que es el debate académico y filosófico. Exhumar ese texto del olvido al que su propio autor lo condenó no parece ser atender a la intención rawlsiana de construir y perfeccionar una teoría liberal de la justicia centrada en el valor de la neutralidad y la equidad o imparcialidad(fairness).
Así que el texto nos deja con una impresión ambigua. Gracias a su publicación conocemos un poco mejor al Rawls autor y también sabemos un poco más de su proceso de maduración filosófica. Al mismo tiempo, debilitamos el valor de la neutralidad y validamos la desatención de los editores a la voluntad de un hombre que había decidido silenciar algún producto suyo que, a la vista de su propia construcción teórica posterior, parece que consideró indigno de ser publicado, es decir, estudiado y debatido por otros.

Dr. Jesús R. Zepeda
Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (Ciudad de México)