1. History of Philosophy

2. Liberal and conservative debates on the nature of man and society
Liberal and conservative debates on the nature of man and society. Postmodernism and the collapse of rationality

3. John Rawls (1921-2002) Robert Nozick (1938-2002) Michael J
John Rawls ( ) Robert Nozick ( ) Michael J. Sandel (1953- )

4. Rawls: A Theory of Justice (1971) Political Liberalism (1993) • original position and the social contract theory • reflective equilibrium principles of justice • principles of justice and just institutions • justice as fairness • well-ordered society

5. PRINCIPLES OF JUSTICE FIRST PRINCIPLE
Each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive total system of equal basic liberties compatible with a similar system of liberty for all.
SECOND PRINCIPLE
Social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so they are both:
(a) to the greatest benefit of the least advantaged, consistent with the just savings principle, and
(b) attached to offices and positions open to all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity.

6. FIRST PRIORITY RULE (THE PRIORITY OF LIBERTY) The principles of justice are to be ranked in lexical order and therefore the basic liberties can be restricted only for the sake of liberty. There are two cases: (a) a less extensive liberty must strengthen the total system of liberties shared by all; (b) a less than equal liberty must be acceptable to those with the lesser liberty.

7. SECOND PRIORITY RULE (THE PRIORITY OF JUSTICE OVER EFFICIENCY AND WELFARE) The second principle of justice is lexically prior to the efficiency and to that of maximizing the sum of advantages; and fair opportunity is prior to the difference principle. There are two cases: (a) an inequality of opportunity must enhance the opportunities of those with the lesser opportunity; (b) an excessive rate of saving must on balance mitigate the burden of those bearing this hardship.

8. • stability of a society based on the two principles of justice • overlapping consensus on justice as fairness and a set of specific political arrangements among adherents of different comprehensive doctrines  truth and metaphysics are incompatible with a stable social order.

9. Nozick: Anarchy, State and Utopia (1974) • critique of Rawls’ theory • no social contract theory but an emerging social order • the state of nature and the evolution towards the minimal state (invisible hand mechanism); the role of protective associations.

10. Sandel: Liberalism and the Limits of Justice (1982) • critique of Rawls’ theory: persons/moral agents are not ready made before becoming members of communities • the original position is based on the idea of abstract, socially neutral individuals • reason is not pre-social.

11. Richard Rorty (1931-2007) Jacques Derrida (1930-2004)

12. Rorty: • in his Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature Rorty argued that the theory of knowledge is a product of a false idea that knowledge is a representation of the mind-independent reality • defence of Rawls’ theory and the idea of reflective equilibrium • social peace and order is based on the idea of relativity of truth and pragmatic significance of beliefs and opinions.

13. Derrida: • deconstruction of texts • multiplicity of interpretations • fluidity of meaning vs. metaphysical stability of meaning based on clear-cut conceptual oppositions, relativity of truth.