Isaiah Berlin – Philosophy, Liberty and Ethics
Isaiah Berlin (1909-1997)
Russian-born British philosopher famous for his two concepts of liberty (see point one
below).
What did he say about philosophy, liberty and ethics?
1. Two concepts of liberty
Positive and negative liberty are necessary for a free and civilized society:
a) positive liberty
Self-mastery i.e. having the opportunity and capacity to:
- make the best of your potential.
- do what you really want to do.
This means having the freedom to:
- make your own decisions and choices.
So liberty isn’t paternalism, when people tell you what to do for your own good.
b) negative liberty
Freedom from the interference and coercion of others.
So social ills like poverty and ignorance only reduce people’s freedom, if they are caused
by someone else.
2. Values are vital but lead to moral conflicts
Berlin supported “value pluralism” i.e. you must have certain
values to be the best possible person.
Values include:
Conflicts in these values are unfortunate but inevitable
In conflicts between values of equal importance (e.g. liberty and social justice), solutions to moral problems
are not clear-cut and must be decided by your ideals.
3. The hedgehog and the fox
This is the title of Berlin’s famous 1953 article.
This says that thinkers can be divided up into:
a) hedgehogs
(who are dominated by one idea like Plato’s, pictured right below, Theory of
Forms).
b) foxes
(whose work is a mixture of several different,
sometimes contradictory, ideas).
Key quote on obectives and
vision
Men do not live only by fighting evils. They live by positive goals, individual and collective.
Key quote on economics
To be free to choose, and not to be chosen for, is an inalienable ingredient in what makes human beings
human.
Key quote on freedom
Freedom is the opportunity to act, not action itself.
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