Part II: Political Philosophy

Chapter 5

Study questions for What is Freedom?

  1. How do you know yourself to be free?
  2. Does freedom require we have any options or only the options we prefer?
  3. Is freedom best understood as what you are able to achieve (positive freedom) or the absence of coercion (negative freedom)?
  4. How is republican freedom different from negative freedom?
  5. Are there any justified limits on our freedom, such as the harm principle?

Multiple Choice Questions

Weblinks for What is freedom?

Carter, I. (2012). ‘Positive and Negative Liberty’. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/liberty-positive-negative/. [An excellent overview of both positive freedom and negative freedom.]

Dworkin, G. (2014). ‘Paternalism’. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/paternalism/. [Useful overview and critical examination of different views about paternalism, including the harm principle].

Lovett, F. (2014). ‘Republicanism’. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/republicanism/. [Accessible introduction to republican theories of freedom both past and present.]

O’Connor, T. (2010). ‘Free Will’. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/freewill/. [Recommended introduction to issues concerning the nature of freedom and how freedom might be understood.]

Introductory further reading for What isfreedom?

Carter, I., Kramer, M. and Steiner, H. (eds) (2006). Freedom: A Philosophical Anthology. Blackwell. [The most comprehensive collection of readings on liberty available.]

Mill, J. (1989). On Liberty and Other Writings. Cambridge University Press. [Defends one of political philosophy’s most well-known and influential ideas: the harm principle.]

Miller, D. (ed.) (2006). The Liberty Reader. London: Paradigm. [Excellent introduction and key readings on liberty by contemporary and historical features. Essential readings on this topic.]

Advanced further reading for What isfreedom?

Berlin, Isaiah (1969). Four Essays on Liberty. Oxford University Press. [Ground-breaking work in the philosophy of freedom both influential and controversial.]

Dimova-Cookson, M. (2003). ‘A New Scheme of Positive and Negative Freedom: Re-constructing T. H. Green on Freedom’. Political Theory 31: 508–32. [Excellent analysis of positive and negative freedom that defends a revised view of Green’s theory of freedom.]

Frankfurt, H. (1969). ‘Alternate Possibilities and Moral Responsibility’. Journal of Philosophy 66: 829–39. [Classic essay exploring whether freedom consists in our having options or having the option we desire.]

Green, T. (1986). Lectures on the Principles of Political Obligation and Other Writings. Cambridge University Press. [The key defence of the positive theory of freedom and leading alternative to negative theories of freedom.]

Hegel, G. (1991). Elements of the Philosophy of Right. Cambridge University Press. [Hegel is widely regarded as one of the most important, yet also one of the most difficult, philosophers in the canon. His Philosophy of Right develops a philosophy of freedom and how it informs our views of self, other and community. A major contribution to how we might understand alienation as a problem for freedom.]

Kant, I. (1996). Critique of Pure Reason. Hackett. [A complex and significant contribution to our understanding of several areas of philosophy. Claims our freedom is intelligible, but cannot be confirmed through pure reasoning alone.]

Pettit, P. (1999). Republicanism: A Theory of Freedom and Government. Oxford University Press. [Major philosophical contribution to republican theories of freedom. Defends republican freedom as a theory of non-domination.]