Customer Reviews

Rawls (The Routledge Philosophers)

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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.

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.

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.

This is a extremely good book. Freeman shows himself a try expert in Rawls's work. If you want to read Rawls's books. I suggest you to read this book along with this. Substaintial parts of the book are adressing Rawls's books Theory Of Justice and Political Liberalism. But also alot of essays, shorer books and the relation between all of this is not forgotten. It really helped me to understand Rawl's theory, thoughts and ideas. Alot and alot better that what I read in Kymlicka's Contemporay Political Philosophy.

Apart from an explenation on Rawls's theory Freeman also is duscussing several of Rawls's critics.

So all in all a invaluable book to those who wish to understand one of the greatest political philosophers of all time.

One remark. The book is not 416 pages as stating here but more close to 575, or atleast mine is.

I don't have much in the way of substantive comments. However, this book has served me well by offering a "standard" interpretation of Rawls that is both informative (to those of us who aren't Rawls scholars) and sophisticated enough to serve as a quick study for professional philosophers.

If you're a professional philosopher or aspiring to be one, this book could greatly improve your library.

This is one heck of a really good book. Prof. Brighouse (see his earlier review) was quite right. It introduces you to the intricacies of Rawls' profound thought in a way that's intelligible to the intelligent, motivated neophyte (favored with the benefit of classroom instruction). It reads easily and minces no words when it comes to driving home an important point. It provides context and demonstrates interconnections with pieces of Rawls' thought that lie scattered about in the extant Rawlsian literature -- secondary as well as primary. It provides prospective as no other Theory of Justice/Justice as Fairness exposition I know does. That the author and Routledge left out a 'to' on the fourth line from the bottom on page 112, or that they redundantly inserted a 'political' on the fifth line from the bottom of the major paragraph on page 351, in no way diminishes the overall readability of the book. The book's cover design features an image of a thick, many-paged tome -- intended to conjure the bulkiness of Rawls' great opus. But there is a subtle subtext to its imagery: this book is every bit as thick as Rawls' own, although this may (in part) be due to the particular grade of paper used in its production, as well as to the page-size. Be this as it may, this is a book I can heartily recommend. I emphatically do!