Positive Freedom
Past, Present, and Future

This is the first volume to treat the idea of positive freedom in detail and from multiple perspectives.

John Christman (Edited by)

9781108487900, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 16 September 2021

300 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 2 cm, 0.57 kg

'This is a very rich volume exploring the notion of 'positive freedom' from a variety of angles: historical, conceptual, normative, and related to applied debates. Highly recommended to any reader who wants to know what thinking about 'positive freedom' has to offer us.' Ingrid Robeyns, Utrecht University

Freedom is widely regarded as a basic social and political value that is deeply connected to the ideals of democracy, equality, liberation, and social recognition. Many insist that freedom must include conditions that go beyond simple “negative” liberty understood as the absence of constraints; only if freedom includes other conditions such as the capability to act, mental and physical control of oneself, and social recognition by others will it deserve its place in the pantheon of basic social values. Positive Freedom is the first volume to examine the idea of positive liberty in detail and from multiple perspectives. With contributions from leading scholars in ethics and political theory, this collection includes both historical studies of the idea of positive freedom and discussions of its connection to important contemporary issues in social and political philosophy.

Introduction: The Multiple Dimensions of Positive Freedom John Christman
1. Unity and Disunity in The Positive Tradition Michael Garnett
2. Positive Liberty as Realizing the Essence of Man Michael Quante
3. Moral and Personal Positive Freedom Maria Dimova-Cookson
4. Positive Freedom and Freedom of Contract: Fairness, Fairing Well, and Freedom Avital Simhony
5. Recognition and Positive Freedom David Ingram
6. Self-Mastery and the Quality of a Life Steven Wall
7. Basic Freedom in the Real World John Christman
8. Reframing Democracy with Positive Freedom: The Power of Liberty Reconsidered Carol C. Gould
9. Positive Liberty, Feminism and Disability Nancy Hirschmann
10. Positive Liberty and Paternalism Horacio Spector
11. Beyond Positive and Negative Liberty: Habermas and Honneth on Freedom in the Political Public Sphere Maeve Cooke
12. Property and Political Power: Neo-Feudal Entanglements Rutger Claassen
13. Public Reason, Positive Liberty, and Legitimacy Chad Van Schoelandt.

Subject Areas: Political control & freedoms [JPV], Political science & theory [JPA], Social & political philosophy [HPS]