Constructing the bridge to the well-ordered society: the Kantian constructivism in John Rawls's thought

• Grant number: 22/12969-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 01, 2022
• End date: November 30, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Political Science - Political Theory
• Principal Investigator: Álvaro de Vita
• Grantee: Rafael Ferreira Curcio
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

With reference to the thought of John Rawls, the project seeks to outline a research about the Kantian constructivism, also called moral constructivism, in contemporary normative theory, with special attention to the task of clarifying how the constructivist approach developed by him, by characterizing a particular conception of the person and making this conception a decisive procedure in the process of choice and justification of principles of justice, has appropriated ideas from Immanuel Kant's practical philosophy. In addition to this objective, the research aims to understand the reasons that led him, in his late intellectual production, to abandon the Kantian constructivism and replace it with the so-called political constructivism. In summary, taking into consideration the articulation of constructivism throughout John Rawls' career, including the contributions of some of his followers, the research proposes to clarify the Kantian influences on constructivism and assess the difficulties in sustaining it encountered by Rawls.