Public Reason in and out of the Well-Ordered Society
Abstract
The later work of John Rawls remains the most common foil in the literature on public reason, but an ostensible conflict between core ideas has caused significant misinterpretations. Specifically, a “well-ordered society” requires that citizens act on the basis of a shared conception of political justice, whereas “the ideal of public reason” involves people acting according to differing conceptions of justice. Instead of representing two different periods in his thought, I argue that Rawls intended to offer two different accounts of public reason: one for within the well-ordered society, and one for outside it. This interpretation matches the text and withstands recent criticisms better than alternatives.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Political Philosophy and Ethics
Philosophical Ethics and Theory
Critical Theory and Philosophy
Publication details
- Journal / source
- American Political Thought
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 1–23
- Publication date
- 1 January 2026
- Language
- EN