Social Freedom
Social Freedom
$120.00
USDWhen is it correct to say that a person's freedom is restricted? Can poverty constrain freedom? Can you constrain your own freedom, for instance through weakness of the will or self-deception, and are you not truly free unless you act on a rational choice? Kristján Kristjánsson offers a critical analysis of the main components of a theory of negative liberty: the nature of obstacles and constraints, the weight of obstacles and the relation of freedom to power and autonomy. Through this discussion, which examines much of the contemporary work on political freedom, he develops his own theory of negative liberty, the so-called 'responsibility view', which meets many of the goals of advocates of positive liberty while retaining its distinctive 'negative' nature. He also argues for, and implements, a method of naturalistic revision as a way of solving conceptual disputes in social philosophy.
- A comprehensive overview of contemporary work on liberty
- Develops author's own 'responsibility view' of liberty
- Tackles the main methodological problems involved in the study of moral and social concepts
Reviews & endorsements
"...lucid and useful book....Social Freedom is a book with many virtues and few imperfections. Its wide-ranging discussion of the various positions in the debate on freedom serves as a useful survey, and the level of argumentation is generally high. The discussion proceeds in a careful and focused manner, and is often very convincing. Kristjansson's tyle is formal and clear, every so often there is a charming, and sometimes very Icelandic flash of color..." - Andrew Bailey, Philosophy in Review
Product details
June 1996Hardback
9780521560924
236 pages
223 × 145 × 23 mm
0.433kg
Available
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgements
- 1. Introduction: freedom from Berlin onwards
- 2. Negative freedom: the nature of constraints
- 3. Obstacles and their weight
- 4. The test of moral responsibility
- 5. Internal bars and positive liberty
- 6. Freedom and power
- 7. Observations on method
- 8. Concluding remarks
- Bibliography
- Index.
