Freedom: Political, Metaphysical, Negative and Positive

Freedom: Political, Metaphysical, Negative and Positive
Author: Yildiz Silier
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 291
Release: 2017-11-28
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1351157981

Isaiah Berlin made a now classic distinction between negative and positive conceptions of freedom. In this book Yildiz Silier introduces a fresh way of looking at these conceptions and presents a new defence of the positive conception of freedom. Revealing how the internal debate between various versions of negative freedom give rise to hybrid conceptions of freedom which in turn are superseded by various versions of the positive conception of freedom, Silier concludes that Marx's concrete historical account of positive freedom resolves many of the key debates in this area and provides a fruitful framework to evaluate the freedoms and unfreedoms that are specific to capitalism. This book examines the thought of the paradigm thinkers in this debate, F.A. Hayek on negative freedom and T.H. Green on positive freedom and then ranges over the contributions to this debate made by both classical thinkers such as Kant, Hegel, and Marx, and those involved in contemporary debates on communitarianism, capitalism and self-determination, such as C. Taylor, D. Miller, F. Oppenheim and C.B. Macpherson.

A Social Theory of Freedom

A Social Theory of Freedom
Author: Mariam Thalos
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2016-03-17
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1317394941

In A Social Theory of Freedom, Mariam Thalos argues that the theory of human freedom should be a broadly social and political theory, rather than a theory that places itself in opposition to the issue of determinism. Thalos rejects the premise that a theory of freedom is fundamentally a theory of the metaphysics of constraint and, instead, lays out a political conception of freedom that is closely aligned with questions of social identity, self-development in contexts of intimate relationships, and social solidarity. Thalos argues that whether a person is free (in any context) depends upon a certain relationship of fit between that agent’s conception of themselves (both present and future), on the one hand, and the facts of their circumstances, on the other. Since relationships of fit are broadly logical, freedom is a logic—it is the logic of fit between one’s aspirations and one’s circumstances, what Thalos calls the logic of agency. The logic of agency, once fleshed out, becomes a broadly social and political theory that encompasses one’s self-conceptions as well as how these self-conceptions are generated, together with how they fit with the circumstances of one’s life. The theory of freedom proposed in this volume is fundamentally a political one.

Politics and Negation

Politics and Negation
Author: Roberto Esposito
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2020-01-07
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 150953945X

For some while we have been witnessing a series of destructive phenomena which seem to indicate a full-fledged return to the negative on the world stage – from terrorism and armed conflict to the threat of environmental catastrophe. At the same time, politics seems increasingly impotent in the face of these threats. In this book, the leading Italian philosopher Roberto Esposito reconstructs the genealogy of the reciprocal intertwining of politics and negation. He retraces the intensification of negation in the thought of various thinkers, from Schmitt and Freud to Heidegger, and examines the negative slant of some of our fundamental political categories, such as sovereignty, property and freedom. Against the centrality of negation, Esposito proposes an affirmative philosophy that does not negate or repress negation but radically rethinks it in the positive cipher of difference, determination and opposition. The result is a rigorous and original pathway which, in the tension between affirmation and negation, recognizes the disturbing traumas of our time, as well as the harbingers of what awaits at its limits. This highly original and timely book will be of great value to students and scholars in philosophy, cultural theory and the humanities more generally, and to anyone interested in contemporary European thought.

Rethinking Positive and Negative Liberty

Rethinking Positive and Negative Liberty
Author: Maria Dimova-Cookson
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2019-09-04
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 042976619X

This book argues that the distinction between positive and negative freedom remains highly pertinent today, despite having fallen out of fashion in the late twentieth century. It proposes a new reading of this distinction for the twenty-first century, building on the work of Constant, Green and Berlin who led the historical development of these ideas. The author defends the idea that freedom is a dynamic interaction between two inseparable, yet sometimes fundamentally, opposed positive and negative concepts – the yin and yang of freedom. Positive freedom is achieved when one succeeds in doing what is right, while negative freedom is achieved when one is able to advance one’s wellbeing. In an environment of culture wars, resurging populism and challenge to progressive liberal values, recognising the duality of freedom can help us better understand the political dilemmas we face and point the way forward. The book analyses the duality of freedom in more philosophical depth than previous studies and places it within the context of both historical and contemporary political thinking. It will be of interest to students and scholars of liberalism and political theory.

Freedom

Freedom
Author: Yildiz Silier
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 192
Release: 2017-06-06
Genre: Liberty
ISBN: 9781138703483

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Original Title Page -- Original Copyright Page -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- Part I The Negative Conception of Freedom -- Chapter 1 Hayek's Notion of Freedom -- Chapter 2 Constraints on Freedom -- Chapter 3 Free Action, Free Person and Free Society -- Chapter 4 Limits of Negative Freedom in Capitalism -- Chapter 5 The Hybrid View -- Part II The Positive Conception of Freedom -- Chapter 6 Green's Notion ofFreedom -- Chapter 7 Kant on Rational Self-Determination -- Chapter 8 Hegel on Concrete Freedom -- Chapter 9 Communitarians on the Social Context of Freedom -- Chapter 10 Freedom as the Power for Self-Determination -- Chapter 11 The Historical Account: Freedoms and Unfreedoms in Capitalism -- Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Index

T.H. Green's Theory of Positive Freedom

T.H. Green's Theory of Positive Freedom
Author: Ben Wempe
Publisher: Imprint Academic
Total Pages: 262
Release: 2004
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9780907845584

Ben Wempe argues that the far-reaching and beneficial influence of Green's political doctrine, on public policy as well as in the field of political theory, was founded on a misinterpretation of his philosophical stand. The book discusses Green's philosophical development.

Qualitative Freedom - Autonomy in Cosmopolitan Responsibility

Qualitative Freedom - Autonomy in Cosmopolitan Responsibility
Author: Claus Dierksmeier
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 371
Release: 2019-01-18
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 3030047237

In the light of growing political and religious fundamentalism, this open access book defends the idea of freedom as paramount for the attempt to find common ethical ground in the age of globality. The book sets out to examine as yet unexhausted ways to boost the resilience of the principle of liberalism. Critically reviewing the last 200 years of the philosophy of freedom, it revises the principle of liberty in order to revive it. It discusses many different aspects that fall under its three main topics: the metaphysics of freedom, quantitative freedom and qualitative freedom. Open societies worldwide have come under increasing pressure in the last decades. The belief that politics and markets fare best when guided by the principle of liberty presently faces multiple challenges such as terrorism, climate warming, inequality, populism, and financial crises. In the view of its critics, the idea of freedom no longer offers adequate guidance to meet these challenges and should be partially corrected or even entirely replaced by countervailing values. Against the reduction of freedom to the merely quantitative question as to how much liberties individuals call their own, this book draws attention to the qualitative concerns which and whose opportunities society should foster. It argues that, correctly understood, the idea of liberty commits us to defend as well as advance the freedom of each and every world citizen.

Hegel: A Very Short Introduction

Hegel: A Very Short Introduction
Author: Peter Singer
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 160
Release: 2001-08-23
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0191604410

Many people regard Hegel's work as obscure and extremely difficult, yet his importance and influence are universally acknowledged. Professor Singer eliminates any excuse for remaining ignorant of the outlines of Hegel's philosophy by providing a broad discussion of his ideas and an account of his major works. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Isaiah Berlin and the Politics of Freedom

Isaiah Berlin and the Politics of Freedom
Author: Bruce Baum
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 277
Release: 2013-03-05
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1135132380

Since his death in 1997, Isaiah Berlin’s writings have generated continual interest among scholars and educated readers, especially in regard to his ideas about liberalism, value pluralism, and "positive" and "negative" liberty. Most books on Berlin have examined his general political theory, but this volume uses a contemporary perspective to focus specifically on his ideas about freedom and liberty. Isaiah Berlin and the Politics of Freedom brings together an integrated collection of essays by noted and emerging political theorists that commemorate in a critical spirit the recent 50th anniversary of Isaiah Berlin’s famous lecture and essay, "Two Concepts of Liberty." The contributors use Berlin’s essay as an occasion to rethink the larger politics of freedom from a twenty-first century standpoint, bringing Berlin’s ideas into conversation with current political problems and perspectives rooted in postcolonial theory, feminist theory, democratic theory, and critical social theory. The editors begin by surveying the influence of Berlin’s essay and the range of debates about freedom that it has inspired. Contributors’ chapters then offer various analyses such as competing ways to contextualize Berlin’s essay, how to reconsider Berlin’s ideas in light of struggles over national self-determination, European colonialism, and racism, and how to view Berlin’s controversial distinction between so-called "negative liberty" and "positive liberty." By relating Berlin’s thinking about freedom to competing contemporary views of the politics of freedom, this book will be significant for both scholars of Berlin as well as people who are interested in larger debates about the meaning and conditions of freedom.