John Rawls and American Pragmatism - Between Engagement and Avoidance

Daniele Botti argues that John Rawls’s philosophy is importantly connected with classical American pragmatism and that Rawls’s intellectual trajectory did not take a "pragmatic turn" in the 1980s but possibly an "un-pragmatic" one. Both claims go against conventional wisdom, and Botti corroborates them with archival research.

List of contents

Contents

Table of Rawls's published Works and Abbreviations

Acknowledgments

General Introduction

Part One: Rawls in the Struggle over the Legacy of Pragmatism

1. Pragmatism: Old Disagreements and the "Eclipse Narrative"

2. The Rorty Discussion

3. The Rorty Discussion, and Rawls

4. Rawls and Pragmatism: What Pragmatism?

Part Two: The Pragmatist Sources of Rawls's Thinking

5. Induction and the Origin of Reflective Equilibrium

6. Rawls on Peirce, Putnam, and White

7. Rawls on Dewey before the "Dewey Lectures"

Part Three: What's the Use of Calling Rawls a Pragmatist?

8. Rawlsian Suggestions on Rawls's neglected Pragmatism

9. The Historical Use of Calling Rawls a Pragmatist

10. The Philosophical Use of Calling the "early" Rawls a Pragmatist

11. The Political Use of Calling Rawls a Pragmatist

Bibliography

About the Author

Index

About the author

Daniele Botti is adjunct professor in the Department of Philosophy and Political Science at Quinnipiac University and in the Department of Philosophy at Fairfield University.

Summary

Daniele Botti argues that John Rawls's philosophy is importantly connected with classical American pragmatism and that Rawls's intellectual trajectory did not take a "pragmatic turn" in the 1980s but possibly an "un-pragmatic" one. Both claims go against conventional wisdom, and Botti corroborates them with archival research.

Product details

• Authors: Daniele Botti
• Publisher: Lexington Books
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.07.2021
• EAN: 9781498598330
• ISBN: 978-1-4985-9833-0
• No. of pages: 280
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History; Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Philosophy: general, reference works; Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political administration; USA, History, PHILOSOPHY / General, HISTORY / General, Philosophy, POLITICAL SCIENCE / American Government / State, United States of America, USA, Regional, state and other local government, Regional government, Regional, state & other local government