Two Concepts of Liberty was the inaugural
lecturethumb|A lecture on [[linear algebra]] at the [[Helsinki University of Technology]]A lecture is an oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about a particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher. Lectures are used to convey critical information, history,...
delivered by
Isaiah BerlinSir Isaiah Berlin, OM was a philosopher and historian of ideas, regarded as one of the leading liberal thinkers of the twentieth century...
before the
University of OxfordThe University of Oxford , located in the UK city of Oxford, is the oldest surviving university in the English-speaking world and is regarded as one of the world's leading academic institutions. Although the exact date of foundation remains unclear, there is evidence of teaching there as far back...
on October 31, 1958. It was subsequently published as a 57-page pamphlet by Oxford at the Clarendon Press. It also appears in the collection of Berlin's papers entitled
Four Essays on Liberty (1969) and was more recently reissued in a collection entitled simply
Liberty (2002).
Berlin distinguished between two forms or
conceptThere are two prevailing theories in contemporary philosophy which attempt to explain the nature of concepts . The representational theory of mind proposes that concepts are mental representations, while the semantic theory of concepts holds that they are abstract objects...
s of liberty –
negative libertyThe concept of negative liberty refers to freedom from interference by other people. According to Thomas Hobbes, "a free man is he that in those things which by his strength and wit he is able to do is not hindered to do what he hath the will to do." The concept of negative liberty refers to...
and
positive libertyPositive liberty refers to having the power and resources to act to fulfill one's own potential, as opposed to negative liberty, which refers to freedom from restraint. Inherent to positive liberty is the idea that liberty is the ability of citizens to participate in their government, or in...
– and argued that the latter concept has often been used to cover up abuse, leading to the curtailment of people's negative liberties "for their own good".
Berlin believed that positive liberty nearly always gave rise to the abuse of power.
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Two Concepts of Liberty was the inaugural
lecturethumb|A lecture on [[linear algebra]] at the [[Helsinki University of Technology]]A lecture is an oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about a particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher. Lectures are used to convey critical information, history,...
delivered by
Isaiah BerlinSir Isaiah Berlin, OM was a philosopher and historian of ideas, regarded as one of the leading liberal thinkers of the twentieth century...
before the
University of OxfordThe University of Oxford , located in the UK city of Oxford, is the oldest surviving university in the English-speaking world and is regarded as one of the world's leading academic institutions. Although the exact date of foundation remains unclear, there is evidence of teaching there as far back...
on October 31, 1958. It was subsequently published as a 57-page pamphlet by Oxford at the Clarendon Press. It also appears in the collection of Berlin's papers entitled
Four Essays on Liberty (1969) and was more recently reissued in a collection entitled simply
Liberty (2002).
Berlin distinguished between two forms or
conceptThere are two prevailing theories in contemporary philosophy which attempt to explain the nature of concepts . The representational theory of mind proposes that concepts are mental representations, while the semantic theory of concepts holds that they are abstract objects...
s of liberty –
negative libertyThe concept of negative liberty refers to freedom from interference by other people. According to Thomas Hobbes, "a free man is he that in those things which by his strength and wit he is able to do is not hindered to do what he hath the will to do." The concept of negative liberty refers to...
and
positive libertyPositive liberty refers to having the power and resources to act to fulfill one's own potential, as opposed to negative liberty, which refers to freedom from restraint. Inherent to positive liberty is the idea that liberty is the ability of citizens to participate in their government, or in...
– and argued that the latter concept has often been used to cover up abuse, leading to the curtailment of people's negative liberties "for their own good".
Berlin believed that positive liberty nearly always gave rise to the abuse of power. For when a political leadership believes that they hold the philosophical key to a better future, this sublime end can be used to justify drastic and brutal means. Berlin saw the vanguard elite of the Soviet Union as a prime example of the dangers of 'positive liberty' and the concept can be seen as especially salient during the Cold War, where revolutionary sentiment was rife.
Berlin believed that a more precautious principle was needed, and that was 'negative liberty', where individuals are protected against radical or revolutionary messages, and thus have little grand or existential freedom but are granted the more 'internal' liberty to pursue recreational and consumer interests.
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