John Rawls dead at 81.
Political philosopher John Rawls died Sunday at the age of 81. (*) Rawls reworked such Enlightenment, liberal values and concepts as liberty, equality, natural rights, and the social contract. He is best known for his argument of the original position: that should the citizens of society have choice in what privileges that the various racial, sexual, and other categories hold, without knowing beforehand what categories they themselves fit into, they would choose equality at the expense of privilege. His contributions will be felt into the future. Thomas Nagel recently assessed Rawls’s works (†), as did Peter Berkowitz. (‡) Further resources are also available. (§)
Some news sources have erroneously reported that Rawls was 82 years old when he died. One of these sources is Le Monde, even though that same paper says he was born in 1921. (**) It’s safe to say he was 81.
John Rawls, 21 February 1921–24 November 2002. RIP.
Last updated: 27 November 2002.