This article explores Rawls's evolving orientation to “the tradition of political philosophy” over the course of his academic career, culminating in Justice as Fairness: A Restatement (2001). Drawing on archival material, it argues that Rawls's fascination with tradition arose out of his own pedagogical engagement with the debate around the “death of political philosophy” in the 1950s. Throughout, I highlight the significance of Rawls's teaching—beginning with his earliest lectures on social and political philosophy at Cornell, to his shifting views on “the tradition” in his published works, culminating in the increasingly contextually minded and irenic approach on display in Political Liberalism (1993) and Justice as Fairness. This neglected aspect of the “historical Rawls” offers insight into how Rawls himself might have read “John Rawls” as a figure in the history of political thought—and reveals that he spent a lot more time contemplating that question than one might think.

中文翻译：

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罗尔斯的学说与政治哲学的“传统”

本文探讨了罗尔斯在其学术生涯中不断演变的“政治哲学传统”取向，最终达到作为公平的正义：重述（2001 年）。它利用档案材料认为，罗尔斯对传统的迷恋源于他自己在 1950 年代围绕“政治哲学之死”的辩论的教学参与。在整个过程中，我强调了罗尔斯教学的重要性——从他最早在康奈尔大学讲授社会和政治哲学开始，到他在出版作品中对“传统”的转变观点，最终以越来越多的语境意识和讽刺的方式在康奈尔大学展出。政治自由主义（1993）和正义即公平. “历史罗尔斯”这一被忽视的方面提供了对罗尔斯本人可能如何将“约翰·罗尔斯”解读为政治思想史上的人物的洞察力——并揭示了他在思考这个问题上花费的时间比人们想象的要多得多。