Rawls's Public Reason The Concept Of Inquiry

Rawls was one of the most important philosophers of America almost the western at the 20th century. He was influential the academic circled with his systematic learning achievement which is not many but epoch-making significance. From"a theory of justice"to"the law of peoples", Rawls was constantly amending and developing his theory by responding all the query and controversy. In"a theory of justice", Rawls tried to establish a new just system info to replace utilitarianism. But in"political liberalism"published in 1993, he descended to strictly restrict his theory in the field of political philosophy, at the same time he cleared alleged that political liberalism had no use for any metaphysical or ethical theory as its theoretic base, on the contrary, it was a rational way to account for all kinds of theoretic and practical conflicts brought by those metaphysical and ethical theories. These declare became a strong theoretic armament for Rawls to meet critics, and a guide idea of his"the law of peoples"(1999), differently in his new volume, Rawls extended his theory from domestic political field to international political field. Public reason is an important aspect through out his entire changing of systematic learning and thinking.At the contemporary democratic society, the diverse doctrine has already become a kind of history fact that can't evade, there is widespread to exist a deep rift in peoples. But the modern and political civilizations take constitutional government as the political civilization of core, taking justice, democracy, right as a core principle. This kind of legitimacy's requests public policy or law that was drawn up with all the people's agree consistently and voluntarily for foundation, so it appears contradiction in diverse and consensus. The public reason is reason's application in public realm, guaranteeing the equal freedom of citizen, it is the reason premise that constitutes government system, and it is also the reason foundation of public power application.In"a theory of justice"Public reason was given by comprehensive liberty theory, in"political liberalism"it changed to base on political justice ideas, and at last"the law of peoples"expounded the public reason in people society. This article only wants to understand the entire theory system of Rawls simply through investigating the public reason, and provide a beneficial thinking to the contradiction of diverse and consensus under the democratic institution.