John Rawls & A Theory of Justice

Humanism is a philosophy that calls upon us to work for a better, more just world. Many philosophers have laid the foundation to this aspect of Humanism. In the 20th century, John Rawls, the most influential political theorist of the past three centuries, refined versions of the social contract as developed by early modern thinkers like Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau. It is of particular interest for Humanists since it provides an objective but workable basis for politics and ethics. It is neither objective, that is, in the sense of some transcendental foundation like God or Nature, nor purely subjective, with the nihilist dead end to which that leads. Besides presenting the basic method and principles for which Rawls argues, Carcieri will also present Rawls' famous theory of civil disobedience, which builds upon the work of Thoreau, Gandhi, King, and others.


Martin Carcieri is an Associate Professor of Political Science at San Francisco State University, where he teaches courses and seminars on Constitutional Law and Political Theory. He holds a J.D. and Ph.D. from the University of California, and has published twenty-five journal articles and book chapters.

Everyone is welcome.

Sponsored by the Bay Area Humanists (www.sfhumanists.org)