Pre-Liberal Political Philosophy

Daniel A. Dombrowski is Professor of Philosophy at Seattle University. He is the author of twenty books and over one hundred and eighty articles in scholarly journals in philosophy, theology, classics, and literature. Among his books are Rethinking the Ontological Argument: A Neoclassical Theistic Perspective (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006); Contemporary Athletics and Ancient Greek Ideals (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2009); and Process Philosophy and Political Liberalism: Rawls, Whitehead, Hartshorne (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2019).

Abbreviations


Introduction


1 Rawls and Plato: The Noble Lie and Social Contract Theory

 1 Introduction


 2 The Very Early Rawls


 3 The Mature Rawls and the Noble Lie


 4 Ferguson’s Criticisms


 5 Strauss and the Straussians


 6 Page’s View


 7 The Smith-Brickhouse Stance


 8 Annas and Bok


 9 Political Liberalism


 10 Social Contract Theory


 11 Conclusion




2 Rawls and Aristotle: Reflective Equilibrium and the Battle between the Ancients and the Moderns

 1 Introduction


 2 Some Basic Similarities and Differences


 3 Wolterstorff’s View


 4 Dworkin’s View


 5 Natural Rights


 6 Critique of Wolterstorff’s View


 7 Relativism


 8 The Ancients and the Moderns


 9 The Aristotelian Principle


 10 Virtue


 11 The Capabilities Approach


 12 Conclusion




3 Rawls and Augustine: Sin, Pluralism of Comprehensive Doctrines, and Nonideal Theory

 1 Introduction


 2 Sin


 3 Infancy and Childhood


 4 God as Personal


 5 Pluralism of Comprehensive Doctrines


 6 Just War Theory


 7 Abortion


 8 Nelson on Pelagianism


 9 Conclusion




4 Rawls and Aquinas: Deliberative Rationality, Love, and Justice

 1 Introduction


 2 The Common Good


 3 Natural Duty


 4 Faith and Sin


 5 Nonhuman Animals


 6 Deliberative Rationality


 7 Types of Dominant Ends


 8 Justice


 9 Love


 10 Freeman’s and Pogge’s Contributions


 11 Facilitation of a Just Society


 12 Conclusion




5 Rawls and History: Ahistoricism and Contextualism

 1 Introduction


 2 Plato’s Philosophy of History


 3 Two Interpretations of Kant


 4 Crucial Points in History


 5 Ahistoricism and Contextualism


 6 Recognition


 7 Robust Reasonableness


 8 Lefebvre and Spiritual Exercises


 9 Conclusion




Bibliography


Index