Jane Reed/Courtesy Harvard University |
Portraits of influence
#4: John Rawls ’43 *50
The author of “A Theory of Justice” and other works, Rawls
has been called one of the most important political philosophers of the
20th century and the most influential proponent of liberalism since John
Stuart Mill. In an essay written shortly after his death in 2002 (see
www.princeton.edu/
paw/archive_new/PAW02-03/08-0129/features3.html), former Princeton
provost Amy Gutmann, a student of Rawls’ at Harvard, described how
Rawls devoted much of his life to studying one urgent question: “What,
he asked, does justice require of individuals and institutions, and how
can we realize it?” His work was an influential force in discussions
of civil rights, educational opportunity, and other social issues. 
Read about others on the list. Click on the illustration below to read about each person. You can also select individuals by name in the index below.
By
Michael Witte ’66
Who’s who in the illustration: Numbers in parentheses
represent the rankings on the PAW panel’s list.
