Political Theory and Liberty

Flashcards covering key concepts in political theory, philosophical liberalism and conservatism, theories of political obligation, different conceptions of liberty (negative and positive), autonomy, and John Stuart Mill's ideas on individuality and freedom.

Political Theory

Studies the justifications for the social and political world, including empirical and normative ideas.

Empirical Ideas

Concepts about how the world IS.

Normative Ideas

Concepts about how the world SHOULD BE.

Kant

A philosopher who thought humans were rational.

Hume

A philosopher who thought humans were emotional.

Politics (Laswell's Definition)

'Deciding who gets what, when, and how.'

Liberalism (Philosophical Meaning)

Valuing freedom and equality, primarily concerned about the individual.

Philosophical Conservatism

Belief that humans are flawed and irrational, needing robust institutions.

Political Obligation

The question of why we are obliged to obey the law (empirically and normatively).

Divine Right of Kings

A religious and political doctrine asserting that a monarch is subject to no earthly authority, deriving the right to rule directly from God.

Holy Roman Empire

A political entity where religious and political power were intertwined.

Protestant Reformation

A religious movement that split the church, weakened the Holy Roman Empire, and diminished the power of the Pope and Emperor.

Treaty of Westphalia (1648)

Ended the Thirty Years' War, leading to the birth of the concept of sovereignty and the modern nation-state system.

Sovereignty

The principle that one country should not invade another, establishing the nation-state system.

Hobbes (Secular Justification)

Sought a non-religious reason to obey the state, arguing people are irrational if they don't consent to a totalitarian state.

Consent Theories

Ideas that rulers' authority derives from the consent of the governed.

Popular Sovereignty

The principle that the authority of a state and its government are created and sustained by the consent of its people.

Express Consent

Explicit agreement to obey the law, such as that given by naturalized immigrants.

Tacit Consent (Locke's Idea)

The idea that actions, such as residing in a country or voting, imply agreement to obey its laws.

Hypothetical Consent

The belief that if people knew the alternative (state of nature), they would rationally consent to a state.

Fairness (Political Obligation)

The idea that one is obligated to obey the state because others do, and not doing so would cause chaos.

Philosophical Anarchism (Godwin)

A negative argument against the justification of any state, while acknowledging benefits of obedience.

Philosophical Anarchism (Wolff)

A positive argument that laws infringe on personal autonomy, questioning the obligation to autonomy itself.

Unfreedom

A state where choice is absent or a product of unnatural deliberation or desire.

Negative Freedom

The absence of external obstacles acting on one's will.

Positive Freedom

The presence of capacity, being rational and autonomous, often involving self-mastery.

Pure Negative Freedom (Hobbes)

The most restrictive view of freedom, asserting that only physical coercion restricts liberty, not verbal threats.

Impure Negative Freedom

A broader view allowing certain forms of social power, specifically social relations and intentional acts, to count as obstacles to freedom.

Autonomy (Positive Liberty)

The decision-making process involving rationality, considering options, reflecting, and revising choices.

Paternalism

The state forcing individuals to do things for their perceived good, risking a loss of negative liberty.

Republican Liberty

The absence of domination, where power is not arbitrary.

Domination

Arbitrary, unconstrained ability to coerce based on one's desire.

Instrumental Value of Liberty

The idea that liberty is valuable because it leads to other beneficial outcomes, such as knowledge or market efficiency.

Hayek (Liberty)

Believed liberty entails market efficiency with minimal state regulation or intervention.

Pluralism (Value of Liberty)

The recognition of several foundational values in society, which Raz argued is necessary for individual autonomy.

Intrinsic Value of Liberty

The belief that the condition of freedom is good in itself, regardless of its consequences.

Higher vs. Lower Selves (Positive Liberty)

A distinction in positive liberty between a rational (higher) self and an irrational (lower) self, sometimes used to justify paternalism.

Berlin (Negative Liberty)

Argued that negative liberty is the preferable goal, as governments cannot genuinely force individual positive liberty.

Christman (Individual Positive Liberty)

Defined an individual as autonomous if, given a set of preferences, the change of preferences is itself autonomous, based on rationality and reflection.

Internal (Subjective) Consistency

Consistency between one's beliefs and desires, e.g., believing in science but rejecting climate change is inconsistent.

External (Objective) Consistency

The truthfulness of one's beliefs about the factual world, based on empirical evidence.

Inner Citadel Critique (Christman)

A critique arguing that maximizing freedom by minimizing desires is problematic, as any reduction of desire can be an issue.

Tyranny Critique

The argument that promoting a 'true-self' or 'higher-self' could lead to coercion, as tyrants cannot understand an individual's internal rationality.

John Stuart Mill

An English philosopher (1806-1873) known as a fierce defender of individual liberty, particularly for his work 'On Liberty.'

Democracy (Mill's Concern)

Mill was concerned about the 'tyranny of the majority' and the social pressure it can exert on individuals.

Principle of Liberty (Mill)

Individuals should be free to act as they wish until their actions harm others, establishing a 'self-regarding sphere.'

Self-Regarding Sphere

The realm of actions that primarily affect only the individual performing them, outside the legitimate scope of societal coercion according to Mill.

Legitimate Coercion (Mill)

State-level penalties (death, jail, fine) or individual-level moral coercion (condemnation) used only when actions directly harm others.

Illegitimate Moral Coercion (Mill)

Mill's concern that people not conforming to norms would be unduly morally condemned, which he viewed as harmful and wrong.

Human Nature (Mill's Conception)

Mill's view that human nature is like a 'tree' (organic, developing) rather than a 'machine' (predictable, mechanistic), contrasting with Bentham.

Individuality (Mill)

The expression of natural tendencies and inclinations through 'experiments in life,' which Mill considered a lifelong activity necessary for progress.

Custom (Mill)

Viewed by Mill as a hindrance that prevents geniuses from emerging and leads to societal stagnation if conformity is absolute.