PHILO

• Isaiah Berlin (1909-1997): 'Two Concepts of Liberty'
• Negative freedom

  Non-interference or the lack of coercive force
• Positive freedom


  Self-government or self-mastery
• Negative freedom is neither contrary to nor opposed to freedom; rather, it is the absence of external control, coercion, or oppressive powers that enables the individual to exercise freedom with authority and sovereignty
• Negative freedom is a form of freedom in which there is no interference or limited influence by other individuals or social classes
• Positive freedom includes the power to self-govern and self-determine which course of action is necessary and important for the person
• Traditional definitions of freedom

  Lack of constraint or pressure
• Private sphere


  Individual space where one realizes a certain degree of autonomy and authority, unconstrained by external interventions, like social groups, the government, or other institutions
• Public sphere


  Social or public life of the individual where it is coextensive with public or external authority, the domain where public debate and social issues are discussed, providing the discursive space for individuals or groups to talk about certain issues of shared interests and perhaps arrive at a mutual agreement
• Political philosophers advocating for reasonable limitations of freedom

  • Thomas Hobbes
  • John Locke
  • John Stuart Mill
• Leviathan


  Hobbes' 1651 work explaining his political philosophy
• Human beings


  • Greedy and selfish by nature
  • Craving for wealth and power
  • Self-seeking and competitive
  • Infinite desire to possess and seek individual satisfaction
• Giving power to the individual

  Will create a dangerous situation that will start a "war of every man against every man" and make life "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short"
• People should not be trusted to make decisions on their own
• Nations


  • Selfishly motivated
  • In constant battle for supremacy and resources
• Power


  The driving force of the Leviathan, motivating everything in the universe
• Governments


  Created to protect people from their own selfish interests and evil propensities
• Best possible government

  One that has the great power and leadership of a Leviathan
• Humans, by nature, are greedy and egoistic, and the world does not and cannot provide for all their needs
• Social contract


  Through which the essential rights and duties of citizens can be logically deduced, with the sovereign identified with might rather than law
• Sovereign's power


  As absolute as men can conceive it, through the Leviathan
• John Locke


  Political philosopher who wrote "Two Treatises of Government" in 1689
• Two Treatises of Government


  • Summarizes Locke's political ideas for a more civilized society grounded on natural rights and social contract
  • Contrasts with Hobbes' notion of "war of every man against every man"
• State of nature


  Locke believed that under the state of nature, all men and women are created equal by God
• Freedom


  Should be exercised by all human beings since it is of divine cradle
• Political power


  Equal and communal in the state of nature
• Infringement arises in the event of a clash or conflict


  Individuals should be restrained from violating the rights of others
• There is a clear and present danger to freedom


  Anyone can defend one's right to life and property
• Liberalism

  Locke is considered the father of Liberalism
• Social contract


  • In the state of nature, all human beings are equal, communal, and autonomous, and everyone has the right to preserve one's right to life, liberty, property, and/or happiness
  • To preserve and maintain the separation of powers in the government and create a regulative order in society, one must submit one's will for the common good by establishing the social contract
• Legitimate government


  Only a legitimate government can have authority over the people
• John Stuart Mill


  English philosopher and political economist
• John Stuart Mill: '"the only freedom which deserves the name, is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs or impede their efforts to obtain it."'
• Harm principle


  Individual freedom should only be restricted to forestall harm to others
• Freedom to seek one's own happiness

  Summum bonum (highest good) for every person
• Freedom to seek one's own happiness can only be violated if the effect of one's freedom harms other persons
• Utilitarianism


  Principle that promotes the idea of the greatest good for the greatest number of people
• Governments ought to have fitting limitations in applying the principle of utilitarianism
• Role of politics

  Maintaining the balance and keeping up the harmony between maximizing the exercise of individual freedom and augmenting the protection of the government
• Too much weight on individual liberty

  Produces anarchism (lawlessness/rebellion)