Rawls's lectures on Modern Political Philosophy [updated]

Harvard Philosophy Department has uploaded John Rawls' lectures on "Modern Political Philosophy" in the spring semester of 1984 (audio only). 

All eleven lectures are now available:

Lecture 1


Introduction; Fundamental ideas (social cooperation, a well-ordered society).

See Lecture 1 in John Rawls's book "Political Liberalism" (Columbia University Press, 1993), and his "Justice as Fairness" (Belknap Press, 2001), pp. 1-12.

Lecture 2


Fundamental ideas (the basic structure of society, the original position, free and equal persons).

See Lecture 1 in John Rawls's book "Political Liberalism" (Columbia University Press, 1993), and his book "Justice as Fairness" (Belknap Press, 2001), pp. 14-24.

Lecture 3

Fundamental ideas (justification and reflective equilibrium).

See John Rawls's book "Justice as Fairness" (Belknap Press, 2001), pp. 26-32.

Lecture 4

John Locke, part 1

See John Rawls's book "Lectures on the History of Political Philosophy" (ed. by Samuel Freeman, Belknap Press, 2007), pp. 103-137.

Lecture 5

John Locke, part 2

See John Rawls's book "Lectures on the History of Political Philosophy" (ed. by Samuel Freeman, Belknap Press, 2007), pp. 103-137.

Lecture 6

David Hume

See John Rawls's book "Lectures on the History of Political Philosophy" (ed. by Samuel Freeman, Belknap Press, 2007), pp. 159-187.

Lecture 7

Locke and Hume. The principles of justice

See John Rawls's book "Justice as Fairness" (Belknap Press, 2001), part II.

Lecture 8


The principles of justice II

See John Rawls's book "Justice as Fairness" (Belknap Press, 2001), part II.

Lecture 9



Kant's "Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals"

See John Rawls's "Lectures on the History of Moral Philosophy" (Harvard University Press, 2000), pp. 143ff.

Lecture 10


Kant's "Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals" II

See John Rawls's "Lectures on the History of Moral Philosophy" (Harvard University Press, 2000), pp. 143ff.

Lecture 11


The Original Position 

See John Rawls's "Justice of Fairness" (Belknap Press, 2001), part III, and his lectures on "Kantian Constructivism in Moral Theory", published in his "Collected Papers" (Harvard University Press, 1999) pp. 303-358.