Rawls (The Routledge Philosophers) [Hardcover]

Samuel Freeman (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0415301084 | ISBN-13: 978-0415301084 | Publication Date: July 17, 2007 | Edition: 1

In this superb introduction, Samuel Freeman introduces and assesses the main topics of Rawls' philosophy. Starting with a brief biography and charting the influences on Rawls' early thinking, he goes on to discuss the heart of Rawls's philosophy: his principles of justice and their practical application to society.

Subsequent chapters discuss Rawls's theories of liberty, political and economic justice, democratic institutions, goodness as rationality, moral psychology, political liberalism, and international justice and a concluding chapter considers Rawls' legacy.

Clearly setting out the ideas in Rawls' masterwork, A Theory of Justice, Samuel Freeman also considers Rawls' other key works, including Political Liberalism and The Law of Peoples. An invaluable introduction to this deeply influential philosopher, Rawls is essential reading for anyone coming to his work for the first time.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'...an important and hugely impressive book. It is straightforward and authoritative, laying out and exploring criticisms in sufficient detail to make clear the underlying philosophical issues.' – The Times Literary Supplement

 'A monumental study of a monumental theorist. This invaluable resource engages with Rawls's work at every level: it's an exposition, it's a critique, and most importantly it projects an understanding of Rawls's work into the future of political philosophy. On every page, Professor Freeman's attention to detail is suffused by his awareness of the overall structure of the theory and the philosophical significance of Rawls's grand strategy.' – Jeremy Waldron, New York University School of Law, USA

'Sympathetic, comprehensive, thorough, and accessible' – Leif Wenar, University of Sheffield, UK

About the Author

Samuel Freeman is Professor of Philosophy and Law at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the editor of the Cambridge Companion to Rawls.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 576 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (July 17, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415301084
• ISBN-13: 978-0415301084
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,192,015 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The perfect companion to Rawls, December 10, 2007

By 

Harry Brighouse (Madison WI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rawls (The Routledge Philosophers) (Paperback)

I admit that I wasn't certain that Samuel Freeman's book on Rawls would be terrific. Two reasons. First, it is very long, and I imagined that a good introductory text would be less than 462 pages long (514 incl. glossary and notes). Second, although I'm a huge admirer of Freeman as a philosopher, all his work that I'd previously read is aimed squarely at scholars; he works on exceedingly difficult questions, makes complicated arguments, and although the pay off is always, in my experience, more than worth the effort, I never expect undergraduates, for example, to be able to make that effort.

But this book is a triumph. A brilliantly careful, utterly transparent, account of Rawls's thought and an admirable presentation of the state of the debates around Rawls's work. Forcing students to read Rawls is the right thing to do; but I shall never again force them to read him without providing Freeman's text as indispensable help.

When I started reading it I was in the midst of a glut of work, and kept trying to put it down so I could get on with things, but couldn't. It is, as it should be at this length, comprehensive--chapters on each of the two principles, on the OP, on the basic structure, and a wonderfully clear chapter on the importance of stability, and what it is that stability consists in. Then a chapter on Kantian constructivism, which really helped illuminate (for me, at least, but I have always been unsure about this) the relationship between the Dewey lectures and the later work, two chapters on political liberalism and one on the Law of Peoples. I guess the book is intended primarily as a companion in a comprehensive course on Rawls's work--read all three main books, and Freeman's so that the students can tell what is going on. But the first six chapters alone justify the (low) price of the book (so it is useable alongside A Theory of Justice or Justice as Fairness alone) and I can't imagine teaching Rawls to undergraduates again without using it. I fyou read Rawls in college, and feel like revisiting him, use Freeman's book alongside it. Highly recommended.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars invaluable overview of rawls's work, September 17, 2007

By 

Skerlep (Ljubljana, Slovenia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rawls (The Routledge Philosophers) (Paperback)

Samuel Freeman was editor of Rawls's Collected papers and is thoroughly familiar with his work. What makes this book great and important is that it is extremely well written book on seminal thinker that explains all the important facets of his philosophy. An excellent explanation of Rawls's complex theories of justice and political liberalism that concludes with chapter on The Law of peoples. Rawls's complex ideas are presented with great clarity and grace and although there are 550 pages the text does not get bogged down in unimportant details. This book will be the central reference for serious study of Rawls.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the One, October 6, 2007

By 

AdamZach - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rawls (The Routledge Philosophers) (Hardcover)

The best introductory work on Rawls and his ideas. The fact that
Freeman knew Rawls and worked closely with him must have helped
in his close reading, explication and critique of his ideas.
Wonderfully and clearly written and most sympathetic to the ideas
of a great thinker. Freeman does a brilliant job in examining all
Rawls's key ideas and works, and places it in the context of
political philosophy as has impacted the 20th century.