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Liberty - Coggle Diagram

- - - - all conceptions of the concept of liberty, are both freedoms from and freedoms to
      - misunderstanding of him - not everything is a combination of positive and negative liberty
        
        he is actually distinction himself, with positive and negative liberty as mutually inconsistent conceptions of liberty
      - 2 by 2 grid based on y and z changing - agent interference? and non-evaluative?
  - - - refer to something more specific than abiloty
      - if we list everything that could be possible, we will discover that the plantation slave has a very similar list of impossibilities to be - if this is true then we have a narrower condition of theory
      - political theorists - should have a narrower view on what is political freedom, rather than just worldly causes/restrictions
      - against - allow natural forces - e.g. addiction
        
        if a schitzophrenic stops taking their meds and now lives in a paranoid state - ar ethey free?
        
        Berlin no
        
        others think that it counts because it frustrates our desired ends.
        
        could try and think about it in the 'normal human range of ability' - because you lack these abilities, then we count them as restraints on your freedom - not very plausible
        
        physical disability does not distort your agency, but mental disabilities and addiction affect agency as they affect what you choose, but not your ability..
    - - if we treat them as equally unfree then we are lead to reject the agency claim.
  - - - but is it rational to seek to minimise frustration and remove desires?
      - utalitarian menace examples - Berlin - state tells you that you do not want to be ...
        
        assumes that everyone shares the same rational will - not everyone has the same rational will, and so uniformity of freedom does not occur as Berlin wants
        
        no one else is better placed to say what your rational will is then you
    - - subject to someone's will makes it worse than a restriction by natural forces
      - this is a biting the bullet in the natural forces case, and the reason your not being made more free by an increase in options is because someone is manipulating the opportunity set.
        
        need some minimally evaluative z component
- - - - freedom is about the personal possession of physical objects
      - individual can diminish freedom through intervention - types:
        
        Offer - compliance results in preferred situations - minimal liberty reduction
        
        Threats - compliance avoids worse consequences - potential liberty reduction
      - Paradigm of unfreedom
        
        complete control of another's voluntary nervous system - prevention measures by physical space and object control; more physical components controlled by other = less individual freedom
    - - actual desires; moral judgements; personal interests
    - - actions are prevented when physical components are sumultaneously occupied
      - freedom is defined by personal possession of physical objects
      - preventing an action means controlling its physical components
  - - - defines liberal freedom as the absence of constraint or interference by others
      - government's role - protects individual rights, and prevents potential threat to freedom through excessive regulation
    - - defined by political arrangements; being a citizen of a self-governing community - active participation in governance
    - - freedom as self-mastery and autonomy - following authentic desires and rational beliefs
  - - - freedom from external inteference
      - focuses on the area of non-intervention in an individual's life
      - characteristics
        
        emphasises individual autonomy
        
        meausres freedom by the extent of unobstructed actions
        
        prioritises personal choice without external constraints
    - - freedom as self-direct and self-realisation
      - focuses on the course of control and personal agency
      - characteristics
        
        emphasises rational self-governance
        
        seeks to understand one's "true" self
        
        can potentially justify authoritarian interventions
      - Critique
        
        potential for manipulation - warns that it can be dangerously transofmed into a mechanism for controlling people by defining what is "rational" for them
      - THREE DISTINCT INTERPRETATIONS - LINKS TO THE OTHER BRANCHES
        
        capacity to act
        
        freedom as the power to do certain things - not just the absence of barriers, but the actual ability to pursue actions
        
        rational self-direction
        
        freedom as aligning with one's "true" or rational desires - distinguishing between surface-level wants and deeper, more authentic aspirations
        
        collective self-determination
        
        freedom through democratic participation - individuals controlling their social environment collectively
    - - must be balanced against other societal values - equality, justice, security, public order
- - - - avoidance of arbitrary power allows the promotion of autonomy, prevents liberty from being diminished by constraints, and creates a close relationship with democratic participation.
      - primarily concerned with potential serious interference - assesses arbitrary power against general human nature
      - varies liberty by extent of arbitrary power, and highlights have it can damage things in the public and private spheres.
      - social structures that create potential for domination are inherently oppressive
    - - dimensions of liberty - focuses on the public sphere of power relations
        
        physical liberty - power to command one's own actions
        
        moral liberty - power to follow personal moral conscience
        
        religious liberty - ability to pursue one's religious beliefs
        
        civil liberty - state's power to govern itself by its own discretion
      - Liberty is diminished by vulnerability to arbitrary power - one is either free or unfree
      - Assumption about human nature
        
        people tend to abuse power
        
        those in power often have limited empathy
        
        arbitrary power is likely to lead to oppression
- - - - spheres of liberty affect where restrictions and commitments to others appear - each form of liberty has a positive dimension
        
        self determination occurs through the spheres in different ways
        
        personal sphere - internal psychological attributes
        
        private sphere - individual choices
        
        governmental sphere - political participation
      - positive liberty isn't just about simple non-interference, but involves a more complex understanding of self-determination
        
        positive liberty involves - exercising normative reason; political participation; self-realization
      - negative-positive liberty divide is overly simplistic; writers often have multiple liberty dimensions; understanding requires nuanced analysis.
  - - - individuals may be free of external constraints but still fail to live autonomously due to internal factors.
    - - psychological barriers can limit freedom - (e.g. irrational fears, internalized oppressive norms, false consciousness, spire and self-destructive impulses)
      - links to negative liberty - LIMITATIONS
        
        we cannot simply define freedom as absence of external obstacles
        
        there are qualitative differences in freedoms, significance of various purposes is important, and we must take into account internal motivational states.
    - - PROBLEM OF AUTHENTICITY - not all desires and motivations represent true self-realisation - need to discriminate between authentic desires, and inauthentic or externally imposed desires.
- - - - negative liberty - freedom from external constraints imposed by others
      - positive liberty - freedom to act according to one's own rational will and pursue self-realisation
      - internal barriers - constraints originating within the individual, such as psychological conditions, lack of self-awareness, or irrationality
      - external barriers - constraints originating outside the individual, such as legal restrictions, economic limitations, or social pressures
      - agent interference - barriers caused by the actions of other individuals or institutions
      - non-agent interference - barriers arising from circumstances or conditions not directly caused by specific agents
    - - too narrow as it only considers external constraints - ignores internal constraints on an individual's ability to be autonomous
      - highlights the necessity of developing a robust positive conception of autonomy that accounts for both internal and external factors
    - - emphasised rationality, and cautioned against blindly accepting self-knowledge
      - rationality is necessary, self-knowledge is important but not an absolute requirement, and there needs to be a focus on genuine constraints
    - - external barriers to people, and can be agent and non-agent interference - paternalistic interventions is not a restriction on a person's liberty if it is justified by enhancing long-term autonomy
      - does this because, we should consider liberty in a broader context than just how it is exercised and realized by individuals
    - - lack of self-awareness, weak will, compulsions, neuroses, inhibitions, and inauthenticity
      - our liberty is not infringed upon if an agent or non-agent interferes and limits what we can do, so long as it goes against an internal obstacle to my true beliefs
  - - - our desires, preferences, and even our conception of "choice" are shaped by social relations - not just about whether you can decide to do something:
        
        the social conditions that inform your decision
        
        the resources available to you
        
        the cultural context that shapes your understanding of choice
        
        can someone be truely free to choose just because technicall, an option exists?
    - - self-definition is central to freedom
      - importance of a "symbolic community of women"
      - creating new meaning and contexts that empower women
      - Choices are always made within particular social contexts, and recognising and potentially reshaping these contexts is part of freedom
    - - negative liberty requires barriers to be the result of intentional and purposive actions by identifiable agents
    - - restrictive conditions don't necessarily need to be caused intentionally by a specific agent. Instead they can be considered barriers to liberty is they are - avoidable, and remediable by human action