PHILOSOPHER
John Rawls
1921 - 2002

John Rawls
John Bordley Rawls (; February 21, 1921 – November 24, 2002) was an American moral, legal and political philosopher in the modern liberal tradition. Rawls has been described as one of the most influential political philosophers of the 20th century. In 1990, Will Kymlicka wrote in his introduction to the field that "it is generally accepted that the recent rebirth of normative political philosophy began with the publication of John Rawls's A Theory of Justice in 1971". Rawls's theory of "justice as fairness" recommends equal basic liberties, equality of opportunity, and facilitating the maximum benefit to the least advantaged members of society in any case where inequalities may occur. Read more on Wikipedia
His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. John Rawls is the 196th most popular philosopher (down from 157th in 2019), the 453rd most popular biography from United States (down from 245th in 2019) and the 2nd most popular American Philosopher.
John Rawls is most famous for his work in political philosophy, which he called "justice as fairness." Rawls argued that a society is just if it meets two conditions: (1) all citizens have the same basic liberties and opportunities, and (2) inequalities are to the greatest benefit of the least advantaged.
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Among PHILOSOPHERS
Among philosophers, John Rawls ranks 196 out of 1,267. Before him are Pierre Gassendi, Pierre Bayle, Kabir, Apollonius of Tyana, Ernest Renan, and Nicolas Malebranche. After him are Max Horkheimer, Christian Wolff, Diotima of Mantinea, Slavoj Žižek, Karl Kautsky, and Étienne Bonnot de Condillac.
Most Popular Philosophers in Wikipedia
Go to all RankingsPierre Gassendi
1592 - 1655
HPI: 74.64
Rank: 190
Pierre Bayle
1647 - 1706
HPI: 74.62
Rank: 191
Kabir
1440 - 1518
HPI: 74.51
Rank: 192
Apollonius of Tyana
15 - 100
HPI: 74.50
Rank: 193
Ernest Renan
1823 - 1892
HPI: 74.49
Rank: 194
Nicolas Malebranche
1638 - 1715
HPI: 74.44
Rank: 195
John Rawls
1921 - 2002
HPI: 74.33
Rank: 196
Max Horkheimer
1895 - 1973
HPI: 74.29
Rank: 197
Christian Wolff
1679 - 1754
HPI: 74.23
Rank: 198
Diotima of Mantinea
450 BC - 300 BC
HPI: 74.23
Rank: 199
Slavoj Žižek
1949 - Present
HPI: 74.22
Rank: 200
Karl Kautsky
1854 - 1938
HPI: 74.17
Rank: 201
Étienne Bonnot de Condillac
1714 - 1780
HPI: 74.16
Rank: 202
Contemporaries
Among people born in 1921, John Rawls ranks 19. Before him are Yves Montand, Fahd of Saudi Arabia, Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Hua Guofeng, Rosalyn Sussman Yalow, and Nancy Reagan. After him are Giulietta Masina, Simone Signoret, Peter Ustinov, P. V. Narasimha Rao, Gunnar Nordahl, and Sophie Scholl. Among people deceased in 2002, John Rawls ranks 12. Before him are Pierre Bourdieu, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Thor Heyerdahl, Archer Martin, Billy Wilder, and Prince Claus of the Netherlands. After him are László Kubala, Traudl Junge, Niki de Saint Phalle, George Porter, Vavá, and Chuck Jones.
Others Born in 1921
Go to all RankingsYves Montand
ACTOR
1921 - 1991
HPI: 76.18
Rank: 13
Fahd of Saudi Arabia
POLITICIAN
1921 - 2005
HPI: 76.14
Rank: 14
Friedrich Dürrenmatt
WRITER
1921 - 1990
HPI: 75.09
Rank: 15
Hua Guofeng
POLITICIAN
1921 - 2008
HPI: 74.87
Rank: 16
Rosalyn Sussman Yalow
PHYSICIST
1921 - 2011
HPI: 74.82
Rank: 17
Nancy Reagan
ACTOR
1921 - 2016
HPI: 74.38
Rank: 18
John Rawls
PHILOSOPHER
1921 - 2002
HPI: 74.33
Rank: 19
Giulietta Masina
ACTOR
1921 - 1994
HPI: 74.32
Rank: 20
Simone Signoret
ACTOR
1921 - 1985
HPI: 74.31
Rank: 21
Peter Ustinov
ACTOR
1921 - 2004
HPI: 74.28
Rank: 22
P. V. Narasimha Rao
POLITICIAN
1921 - 2004
HPI: 74.27
Rank: 23
Gunnar Nordahl
SOCCER PLAYER
1921 - 1995
HPI: 74.23
Rank: 24
Sophie Scholl
SOCIAL ACTIVIST
1921 - 1943
HPI: 73.94
Rank: 25
Others Deceased in 2002
Go to all RankingsPierre Bourdieu
SOCIOLOGIST
1930 - 2002
HPI: 78.90
Rank: 6
Hans-Georg Gadamer
PHILOSOPHER
1900 - 2002
HPI: 77.23
Rank: 7
Thor Heyerdahl
EXPLORER
1914 - 2002
HPI: 77.14
Rank: 8
Archer Martin
CHEMIST
1910 - 2002
HPI: 76.38
Rank: 9
Billy Wilder
FILM DIRECTOR
1906 - 2002
HPI: 75.36
Rank: 10
Prince Claus of the Netherlands
NOBLEMAN
1926 - 2002
HPI: 74.41
Rank: 11
John Rawls
PHILOSOPHER
1921 - 2002
HPI: 74.33
Rank: 12
László Kubala
SOCCER PLAYER
1927 - 2002
HPI: 73.52
Rank: 13
Traudl Junge
WRITER
1920 - 2002
HPI: 72.87
Rank: 14
Niki de Saint Phalle
PAINTER
1930 - 2002
HPI: 72.70
Rank: 15
George Porter
CHEMIST
1920 - 2002
HPI: 72.62
Rank: 16
Vavá
SOCCER PLAYER
1934 - 2002
HPI: 72.60
Rank: 17
Chuck Jones
FILM DIRECTOR
1912 - 2002
HPI: 72.44
Rank: 18
In United States
Among people born in United States, John Rawls ranks 453 out of 20,380. Before him are Edward Hopper (1882), Jeffrey Dahmer (1960), Nancy Reagan (1921), Margaret Mitchell (1900), Bill Nelson (1942), and Eli Wallach (1915). After him are William F. Sharpe (1934), Angelina Jolie (1975), Edward Drinker Cope (1840), Man Ray (1890), Millard Fillmore (1800), and David Rockefeller (1915).
Others born in United States
Go to all RankingsEdward Hopper
PAINTER
1882 - 1967
HPI: 74.40
Rank: 447
Jeffrey Dahmer
EXTREMIST
1960 - 1994
HPI: 74.39
Rank: 448
Nancy Reagan
ACTOR
1921 - 2016
HPI: 74.38
Rank: 449
Margaret Mitchell
WRITER
1900 - 1949
HPI: 74.38
Rank: 450
Bill Nelson
POLITICIAN
1942 - Present
HPI: 74.37
Rank: 451
Eli Wallach
ACTOR
1915 - 2014
HPI: 74.35
Rank: 452
John Rawls
PHILOSOPHER
1921 - 2002
HPI: 74.33
Rank: 453
William F. Sharpe
ECONOMIST
1934 - Present
HPI: 74.32
Rank: 454
Angelina Jolie
ACTOR
1975 - Present
HPI: 74.32
Rank: 455
Edward Drinker Cope
ARCHAEOLOGIST
1840 - 1897
HPI: 74.30
Rank: 456
Man Ray
PAINTER
1890 - 1976
HPI: 74.27
Rank: 457
Millard Fillmore
POLITICIAN
1800 - 1874
HPI: 74.24
Rank: 458
David Rockefeller
BUSINESSPERSON
1915 - 2017
HPI: 74.20
Rank: 459
Among PHILOSOPHERS In United States
Among philosophers born in United States, John Rawls ranks 2. Before him are Willard Van Orman Quine (1908). After him are George Herbert Mead (1863), Donald Davidson (1917), Pat Robertson (1930), Judith Butler (1956), John Searle (1932), Anne Sullivan (1866), Robert Nozick (1938), Richard Rorty (1931), Hilary Putnam (1926), and Michael J. Sandel (1953).
Willard Van Orman Quine
1908 - 2000
HPI: 77.28
Rank: 1
John Rawls
1921 - 2002
HPI: 74.33
Rank: 2
George Herbert Mead
1863 - 1931
HPI: 72.41
Rank: 3
Donald Davidson
1917 - 2003
HPI: 72.02
Rank: 4
Pat Robertson
1930 - 2023
HPI: 71.65
Rank: 5
Judith Butler
1956 - Present
HPI: 69.72
Rank: 6
John Searle
1932 - Present
HPI: 69.67
Rank: 7
Anne Sullivan
1866 - 1936
HPI: 69.47
Rank: 8
Robert Nozick
1938 - 2002
HPI: 69.33
Rank: 9
Richard Rorty
1931 - 2007
HPI: 68.78
Rank: 10
Hilary Putnam
1926 - 2016
HPI: 67.99
Rank: 11
Michael J. Sandel
1953 - Present
HPI: 67.59
Rank: 12