Two concepts of freedom

What defines individual freedom in a civilised society? Philosophers have argued over such questions for centuries. This unit looks at various concepts of freedom, asking you to think carefully about how freedom is restricted by our place in society and how it can vary from state to state.

By the end of this unit you should:

• be able to distinguish between negative and positive concepts of freedom;

• have a good knowledge of the main points in Isaiah Berlin's article ‘Two Concepts of Liberty’;

• be able to recognise emotive language, to distinguish between necessary truths and contingent facts, and to appreciate what is involved in refutation by counterexample.

• Freedom’ can mean many different things. Here we're concerned with political freedom. Isaiah Berlin distinguished between a concept of negative freedom and a concept of positive freedom. You will examine these concepts and learn to recognise the difference between freedom from constraint and the freedom that comes from self-mastery or self-realisation.

• The following material is taken from the book Arguments for Freedom ‘1999’ authored by Nigel Warburton of The Open University.

• This material is from our archive and is an adapted extract from Philosophy and the Human Situation (A211) which is no longer taught by The Open University. If you want to study formally with us, you may wish to explore other courses we offer in this subject area.

23. Concept of Human rights.

Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being."^[1] Human rights are thus conceived as universal (applicable everywhere) and egalitarian (the same for everyone). These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in local, regional, national, and international law.^[2] The doctrine of human rights in international practice, within international law, global and regional institutions, in the policies of states and in the activities of non-governmental organizations, has been a cornerstone of public policy around the world. The idea of human rights^[3] states, "if the public discourse of peacetime global society can be said to have a common moral language, it is that of human rights." Despite this, the strong claims made by the doctrine of human rights continue to provoke considerable skepticism and debates about the content, nature and justifications of human rights to this day. Indeed, the question of what is meant by a "right" is itself controversial and the subject of continued philosophical debate.^[4]

Many of the basic ideas that animated the human rights movement developed in the aftermath of the Second World War and the atrocities of The Holocaust, culminating in the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Paris by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. The ancient world did not possess the concept of universal human rights.^[5] The true forerunner of human rights discourse was the concept of natural rightswhich appeared as part of the medieval Natural law tradition that became prominent during the Enlightenment with such philosophers as John Locke,Francis Hutcheson, and Jean-Jacques Burlamaqui, and featured prominently in the political discourse of the American Revolution and the French Revolution.

From this foundation, the modern human rights arguments emerged over the latter half of the twentieth century.^[6]

Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world...

—1st sentence of the Preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.

—Article 1 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR

24. Concept of Individualism.

Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, or social outlook that emphasizes "the moral worth of the individual".^[1][2]Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and so value independence and self-reliance^[3] and advocate that interests of the individual should achieve precedence over the state or a social group,^[3] while opposing external interference upon one's own interests by society orinstitutions such as the government.^[3]

Individualism makes the individual its focus^[1] and so starts "with the fundamental premise that the human individual is of primary importance in the struggle for liberation."^[4] Liberalism, existentialism and anarchism are examples of movements that take the human individual as a central unit of analysis.^[4] Individualism thus involves "the right of the individual to freedom and self-realization".^[5]

It has also been used as a term denoting "The quality of being an individual; individuality"^[3] related to possessing "An individual characteristic; aquirk."^[3] Individualism is thus also associated with artistic and bohemian interests and lifestyles where there is a tendency towards self-creation and experimentation as opposed to tradition or popular mass opinions and behaviors^[3][6] as so also with humanist philosophical positions and ethics.