PHIL 250 Lecture 2: Hume on Determinism and Freedom
10 Mar 2017
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Hume on determinism and freedom: we began with a discussion of what we mean by freedom , focusing on the famous contrast between negative and positive liberty. This is a distinction, made by the philosopher sir. Isaiah berlin, between two senses of political freedom or liberty. On the negative conception of liberty, one is free to the degree that one is not prevented from pursuing one"s freely chosen ends. I am free insofar as no-one prevents me from doing what i want to do, and unfree insofar as they do. Critics of negative liberty argue that freedom should not be seen merely in terms of freedom to do what one wants. After all, in many cases, we do not simply choose our wants, commitments and concerns. This positive conception of liberty is endorsed in different forms by thinkers of many different persuasions. Rousseau put it, people have to be forced to be free .
