THE IDEA OF FREEDOM

The focus of this module is the concept of political liberty. It explores each of the three
major traditions of theorising freedom: the negative tradition (in which freedom is
understood as the absence of external obstacles), the republican tradition (in which
freedom is understood as independence from dominating power), and the positive
tradition (in which freedom is understood as the pursuit of a particular form of life),
looking along the way at key figures such as Hobbes, Bentham, Rousseau, Hegel and
Marx. It also goes on to consider broader political questions such as: What is the relation
between freedom and poverty? Does subjection to propaganda reduce freedom and, if
so, how? Can processes of enculturation and socialisation themselves be oppressive and
undermining of freedom?
Required Preliminary Reading:
Berlin, I. Two concepts of liberty, in his Four Essays on Liberty (Oxford University
Press, 1969).

Lectures & Seminars: The lectures will be held on Wednesdays from 2-3pm in the
Autumn Term (see the timetable for locations). The lecturer is Dr. Michael Garnett
(m.garnett@bbk.ac.uk). The seminars will be held immediately following the lectures.

Readings: There are four readings listed each week, in a recommended order (1-4). One
of these, LISTED IN SMALL CAPS, will be the focus of the seminar discussion. It is essential
that you attempt the seminar reading each week if you are to participate in the seminar
discussion. (Since one of the purposes of the seminar is to help you to understand the
reading, however, do not worry if you feel you have not fully understood it.) It is also
highly recommended that you attempt the other recommended readings: these will help
you both to understand the seminar reading and to get the most out of the lecture.

Assessment at L6 (BA): This module is assessed by one essay of around 3,000 words
(strict maximum: 3,200 words). Further details will be included in a separate document.

Moodle: Electronic copies of course materials are available through Moodle, at

http://moodle.bbk.ac.uk. You will need your ITS login name and password to enter.

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Week 1. Freedom: Three Traditions

1. MACCALLUM, GERALD. C. NEGATIVE AND POSITIVE FREEDOM, PHILOSOPHICAL

REVIEW 76 (1967). [www.jstor.org/stable/2183622]
2. Skinner, Quentin. A third concept of liberty, Proceedings of the British Academy
117 (2002).
3. Nelson, Eric. Liberty: One concept too many?, Political Theory 33/1 (2005).
[www.jstor.org/stable/30038395]
4. Christman, John. Saving positive freedom, Political Theory 33/1 (2005).
[www.jstor.org/stable/30038396]

Week 2. Freedom in the Negative Tradition

1. HOBBES, THOMAS. OF THE LIBERTY OF SUBJECTS, CH. 21 OF HIS LEVIATHAN (MANY

EDITIONS, 1651). [www.gutenberg.org/files/3207/3207-h/3207-h.htm]

2. Skinner, Quentin. Leviathan: liberty redefined, Ch. 5 of his Hobbes and Republican
Liberty (Cambridge University Press, 2008).
3. Constant, Benjamin. The liberty of the ancients compared with that of the moderns,
in B. Fontana, ed., Benjamin Constant: Political Writings (Cambridge University
Press, 1988). [www.earlymoderntexts.com/pdf/conslibe.pdf]
4. Rosen, F. Negative liberty, Ch. 13 of his Classical Utilitarianism from Hume to
Mill (Routledge, 2003).

Week 3. Negative Freedom Today

1. STEINER, HILLEL. INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY, PROCEEDINGS OF THE ARISTOTELIAN SOCIETY

75 (1974-5). [www.jstor.org/stable/4544864]
2. Miller, David. Constraints on freedom, Ethics 94/1 (1983). [www.jstor.org/stable/2380657]
3. Carter, Ian. Individual freedom: constraints, Ch. 8 of his A Measure of Freedom
(Oxford University Press, 1999). [Available via Birkbeck elibrary]
4. Garnett, Michael. Ignorance, incompetence, and the concept of liberty, Journal of
Political Philosophy 15/4 (2007). [http://philpapers.org/archive/GARIIA.pdf]

Week 4. Freedom in the Republican Tradition

1. ROUSSEAU, JEAN-JACQUES. ON THE SOCIAL CONTRACT (MANY EDITIONS, 1762), BK. I,

CHS. 5-8 & BK IV, CH. 2. [www.earlymoderntexts.com/pdf/roussoci.pdf]
2. Harrington, James. The preliminaries, showing the principles of government, 2 of
his The Commonwealth of Oceana (many editions, 1656).
[www.gutenberg.org/files/2801/2801-h/2801-h.htm]
3. Skinner, Quentin. The neo-roman theory of free states, Ch. 1 of his Liberty Before

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 Liberalism (Cambridge University Press, 1998).
4. Cohen, Jonathan. The society of the general will, Ch. 2 of his Rousseau: A free
community of equals (Oxford University Press, 2010). [Available via Birkbeck
elibrary]

Week 5. Republican Freedom Today

1. PETTIT, PHILIP. LIBERTY AS NON-DOMINATION, CH. 2 OF HIS REPUBLICANISM: A

THEORY OF FREEDOM AND GOVERNMENT (CLARENDON PRESS, 1997). [Available via
Birkbeck elibrary]
2. Kramer, Matthew. Liberty and domination, in C. Laborde and J. Maynor, eds.,
Republicanism and Political Theory (Blackwell, 2008). [Available via Birkbeck
elibrary]
3. Friedman, Marilyn. Republicanism and male domination, in C. Laborde and J.
Maynor, eds., Republicanism and Political Theory (Blackwell, 2008). [Available via
Birkbeck elibrary]
4. Larmore, Charles. A Critique of Philip Pettits Republicanism, Philosophical Issues
11/1 (2001).

READING WEEK
Week 6: Freedom in the Positive Tradition

1. Korsgaard, Christine. Morality as freedom, Ch. 6 of her Creating the Kingdom of

Ends (Cambridge University Press, 1996).
2. Wood, Allen. Freedom, Ch. 2 of his Hegels Ethical Thought (Cambridge
University Press, 1990).
3. PATTEN, ALAN. HEGELS IDEA OF FREEDOM (OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1999), CHS.
13. [Available via Birkbeck elibrary]
4. Marx, Karl. On The Jewish Question (many editions, 1844), Part I.
[www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1844/jewish-question]

Week 7: Positive Freedom Today

1. Berlin, Isaiah. Two concepts of liberty, in his Four Essays on Liberty (Oxford
University Press, 1969).
2. TAYLOR, CHARLES. WHAT'S WRONG WITH NEGATIVE LIBERTY, IN D. MILLER, ED.,
LIBERTY (OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1991); ALSO IN A. RYAN, ED., THE IDEA OF
FREEDOM (OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1979).
3. Swift, Anthony. Liberty, Part II of his Political Philosophy: A beginners guide for
students and politicians (Polity Press, 2001).
4. Frankfurt, Harry G. Freedom of will and the concept of the person, Journal of
Philosophy (1971) [www.jstor.org/stable/2024717]

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Week 8: Freedom, Oppression and the Mind

1. Christman, John. Liberalism and individual positive freedom, Ethics 101 (1991),
pp. 343-59. [www.jstor.org/stable/2381867]
2. Benson, Paul. Autonomy and oppressive socialisation, Social Theory and Practice
17 (1991), pp. 385-408.
3. STOLJAR, NATALIE. AUTONOMY AND THE FEMINIST INTUITION, MACKENZIE, C. &
STOLJAR, N, EDS., RELATIONAL AUTONOMY (OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2000).
4. Meyers, Diana. T. Feminism and womens autonomy: the challenge of female
genital cutting, Metaphilosophy 31/5 (2000).

Week 9: Freedom, Ability and Economic Inequality

1. Cohen, G. A. Freedom and money, Ch. 8 of his On the currency of egalitarian

justice, and other essays in political philosophy (Princeton University Press,
2011). [www.utdt.edu/Upload/_115634753114776100.pdf]
2. DANIELS, NORMAN. EQUAL LIBERTY AND UNEQUAL WORTH OF LIBERTY, IN HIS
READING RAWLS (BLACKWELL, 1975), PP. 253-81.
3. Crocker, Lawrence. Criticisms of positive liberty, Ch. 6 of his Positive Liberty
(Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1980).
4. Rawls, John. The basic liberties and their priority, Lecture VIII of his Political
Liberalism (New York: Columbia University Press), 17.

Week 10: Capitalism, Coercion and the Wage Relation

1. WERTHEIMER, ALAN. COERCION (PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1987), CH. 12. (SEE
ALSO CHS. 13 & 14.)

2. Nozick, Robert. Anarchy, State, and Utopia (Blackwell, 1974) Ch. 8, especially pp.
26265.
3. Olsaretti, Serena. Liberty, Desert and the Market (Cambridge University Press, 2004)
Chs. 5 & 6.
4. Barnes, Gordon. Why is coercion unjust? Olsaretti vs. the libertarian, Analysis 72/3
(2012). [http://analysis.oxfordjournals.org.ezproxy.lib.bbk.ac.uk/content/72/3.toc]