The textual and contextual connections between John Rawls's intellectual figure and American pragmatism (broadly conceived) have become topics of discussion only recently. This is at least in part due to the fact that Rawls seemed to have taken a "pragmatic turn" in his intellectual trajectory-from A Theory of Justice (1971) to Political Liberalism (1993). John Rawls and American Pragmatism: Between Engagement and Avoidance intervenes in these discussions with two unconventional claims corroborated by archival research. First, Daniele Botti shows that Rawls's thinking owes more to the American pragmatists' views than is generally recognized. Second, and in the light of the pragmatist sources of Rawls's thinking, Botti argues that we should reverse the common narrative about Rawls's alleged pragmatic turn and interpret it as a quite "un-pragmatic" one. By making the case for interpreting Rawls as an American pragmatist, this book profoundly transforms not only a widely held interpretation about Rawls's intellectual trajectory, but also our understanding of American philosophical vicissitude in the second half of the twentieth century.
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.
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
Daniele Botti effectively upends the conventional view that Rawls's introduction of political liberalism marked a "pragmatic turn." Drawing on archival materials and on impressive philosophical learning, Botti locates deep pragmatist strains in Rawls's thought from the late 1940's onwards, predating Quine's publications and compromised, if anything, by political liberalism's step back from universalism. The result is a highly illuminating account not only of Rawls's work as a whole but also of the great tradition of American pragmatism more generally. -- Henry S. Richardson, Professor of Philosophy, Georgetown University
