The Spiritual Exercises of John Rawls. (June 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lefebvre, Alexandre
• Is Part Of: Political theory. Volume 50:Number 3(2022)
• Page Start: 405
• Page End: 427
• Publication Date: 2022-06
• Subjects: original position -- moral psychology -- liberalism -- Pierre Hadot -- selfhood -- philosophy as a way of life; Political science -- Periodicals; Science politique -- Périodiques; 320.05
• DOI: 10.1177/00905917211041768
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0090-5917

Abstract

In this article I interpret John Rawls's concept of the original position as a spiritual exercise. In addition to the standard interpretation of the original position as an expository device to select principles of justice for the fundamental institutions of society, I argue that Rawls also envisages it as a "spiritual exercise": a voluntary personal practice intended to bring about a transformation of the self. To make this argument, I draw on the work of Pierre Hadot, a philosopher and classicist, who introduced the idea of spiritual exercises as central to ancient and modern conceptions of philosophy. By reading Rawls alongside Hadot, this article portrays Rawls as a thinker deeply concerned with the question of how subjects can lead more just and fulfilling lives. It also proposes that the original position as a spiritual exercise can help defend liberalism as a social and political doctrine.