Description
Book SynopsisJohn Rawls never published anything about his own religious beliefs, but after his death two texts were discovered which shed light on the subject. The present volume includes these two texts, together with an Introduction that discusses their relation to Rawls’s published work, and an essay that places them theological context.
Trade ReviewWhat 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 *
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 *
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 *
[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 *
Table of Contents* Introduction *Joshua Cohen and Thomas Nagel * The Theological Ethics of the Young Rawls and Its Background *Robert Merrihew Adams A Brief Inquiry into the Meaning of Sin and Faith * A Note on the Text * Preface * A General Prospectus * Vindication of the Natural Cosmos * The Extended Natural Cosmos * The Meaning of Sin * The Meaning of Faith * Bibliography On My Religion * Index
