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Abstract
This article examines the conceptions of freedom from different perspectives, starting with Berlins positive and
negative freedom. The article then shows that there are also natural and civil sides of the freedom apart of the
positive/negative side and these four types of freedom can be combined into another four types of freedom. The article
continues to examine freedom in terms of particular freedom/overall freedom and in term of meta-decision/object-decision.
These four are not another type of freedom but another aspect of freedom. The article combines four types of freedom with
these aspects in order to show why civil freedom is better than natural freedom.
Keywords: Positive Freedom, Negative Freedom, Civil Freedom, Natural Freedom, Meta-Decision, Object-Decision
Introduction
What is freedom? This is a classic question that many academicians have been trying to answer. Berlin provides us
with two concepts of freedom, negative freedom and positive freedom. (Berlin, 2006) Positive freedom doesnt mean the
freedom of good people and negative freedom doesnt mean the freedom of bad people. According to Berlin, negative
freedom is the freedom from interference and positive freedom is freedom to do something of ones will. Berlins conception
of freedom has been cited, analyzed, expanded and criticized many times. For example, Spector states that positive freedom
can be positive in two senses. (Spector, 2010: 796) It can be positive in the sense of possessing an opportunity or power and it
can be positive in the sense of actually achieving self-realization. According to Spector, positive freedom is both an
opportunity-concept and an exercise-concept. Spector elaborates more on the subjects by categorizing four conceptions of
freedom. He states that there are two types of negative freedom and two types of positive freedom. According to him, there
are natural negative/positive freedoms and civil negative/positive freedoms so its not about the general negative/positive
Lecturer, Faculty of Political Sciences, College of Government, Rangsit University; Email: c_naktranun@hotmail.com
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High
High
Medium
Medium
Likelihood of Particular
Freedom
Low
High
Low/High
Low/High
According to table 1, I categorize freedom into 4 types of freedom by combining Berlin and Spectors conceptions
of freedom and I also apply the work of Kramer by using the conception of overall freedom and likelihood of particular
freedom. Lastly, I use the conception of Bouillons negative meta-decision. I will examine each type of freedom by looking at
the overall freedom, likelihood of particular freedom and the cost of negative meta-decision.
In the case of natural negative freedom, the overall freedom is high because of the absence of civil law. In a state of
nature we are free from everything legally but the likelihood of particular freedom is low because in a state of nature even
though we are free from everything legally, we are actually not free from everything practically. We can say that we are free
from everything legally but what if someone is stronger than us and dominates us by force? A powerful person can always
become a master and a weaker person can always become a slave in a state of nature practically and we cant complain to the
master that this is illegal! I will file a lawsuit against you In addition, the cost of negative meta-decision is also high because
in a state of nature if you refuse to accept the domination of your master, there is a high chance that he will hurt you
somehow. We now see that living in a state of nature is risky because of the high cost of negative meta-decision.
The cost of negative meta-decision will always go in the opposite direction to that of the likelihood of a particular
freedom. If the cost of negative meta-decision is high, the likelihood of a particular freedom will be low, vice versa. Living in
a state of nature is costly because if the interfered rejects the interfering, the latter will not let the interfered go easily so the
likelihood that the interfered will be free from the interfering is low.
Lets turn to the natural positive freedom. The degree of overall freedom is as high as natural negative freedom. The
difference lies in the likelihood of a particular freedom because its higher than that of the natural negative freedom. Why?
Because in state of nature we are free to do anything. For example, if you are really into someone you can just rape him/her or
use whatever force you have to make love with that person but the downside is that anyone can also do that to you. (Dont
forget that the likelihood of a particular freedom of natural negative liberty is low, thats why) The likelihood of a particular
freedom of natural positive freedom is high but the likelihood of a particular freedom of natural negative freedom is low. Its
negative side is low because someone always uses his/her high likelihood of natural positive particular freedom.
Now lets talk about the civil negative/positive freedom. The degree of overall freedom is medium. The reason is
that even though we are free from illegal interference (civil negative freedom) we are still bound by law. For example, we are
not free from tax and traffic rules. And even though we are free to do many things (civil positive freedom) we couldnt just
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References
Appbaum, A. 2007. Forcing a People to Be Free. Philosophy and Public Affairs 35 (4): 360-400.
Berlin, I. 2006. Two Concepts of Liberty. in R. Goodin and P. Pettit (eds.). Contemporary Political Philosophy: An
Anthology. 2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 369-387.
Bouillon, H. 2003. Breaking the Circle: The Definition of Individual Liberty. Ethics and Politics (2): 1-12.
Hirschmann, N. 2015. Freedom. in M. Gibbons (ed.). The Encyclopedia of political Thought. New Jersey: John Wiley &
Sons, pp. 1-14.
Kramer, M. 2002. Why Freedoms Do Not Exist by Degrees. Political Studies 50: 230-243.
Spector, H. 2010. Four Conceptions of Freedom. Political Theory 38 (6): 780-808.
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