Rawls's Structural Response to Arbitrariness: An Echo of Calvin
John Rawls, father of contemporary distributive justice, professed the metaphysical neutrality of his theory, and formulated an additional theory to support such neutrality generally. This article exposes Rawls's own theological underpinnings concerning his conception of the moral arbitrariness...
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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Published: |
Philosophy Documentation Center
[2018]
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In: |
Philosophy & theology
Year: 2018, Volume: 30, Issue: 1, Pages: 123-148 |
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Rawls, John 1921-2002
/ Calvin, Jean 1509-1564, Christianae religionis institutio
/ Existence
/ Arbitrariness
/ Justice
/ Rationality
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RelBib Classification: | KAG Church history 1500-1648; Reformation; humanism; Renaissance KDD Protestant Church NBE Anthropology NCC Social ethics TK Recent history VA Philosophy |
Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
Summary: | John Rawls, father of contemporary distributive justice, professed the metaphysical neutrality of his theory, and formulated an additional theory to support such neutrality generally. This article exposes Rawls's own theological underpinnings concerning his conception of the moral arbitrariness of existence, and his structural dichotomous approach for engaging it. I show how both of his theories are reminiscent of Calvin, employing methods of bifurcation, and thus generating tensions within both the concept of justice and moral personality. I end with analysis of the relationship of this structural rationality to arbitrariness. This exposure of Rawls’s theological debt is part of a wider argument concerning the theological basis of distributive justice theory, and the relevance of Theology for philosophical ethics. |
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ISSN: | 2153-828X |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Philosophy & theology
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.5840/philtheol20179590 |