phil245 final exam
Isaiah Berlin on Negative LIberty
Definition: freedom from deliberate interference of other human beings within an area in which I could otherwise act
Ex. freedom of speech
Berlin on Positive Liberty
Freedom to
Ex. freedom to live your life as you see fit
Berlin did not approve of this because he believed its pursuit, focused on self-mastery, often justified immense state power or coercion by forcing people to a “higher self”
Harm Principle
J.S. Mill
The only purpose for which power can rightfully eb exercised over someone is to prevent harm to others
Self-regarding Actions
Actions that should not be interfered with
Liberty of thought, freedom of opinion, liberty to publish opinions
Other-regarding Actions
Actions that may be subject to deliberate interference
Mill’s Exceptions of Where we May Interfere With a Person’s Action
Emergencies
Competence threshold
Mill’s Argument for Freedom of Speech
The more freedom of speech a society allows, the more it is likely to discover truths and progress
Development of human capacities – deliberating our views develops our deliberate capacities and makes us better humans
Concerns about the abuse of state power
Berlin’s Argument Against Positive Liberty
Premise 1: positive freedom implies that actions reflect my own plans, purposes, and ideas
Premise 2: people can obstruct their own plans, purposes, and ideals. There can be a conflict between what i want to do and what i actually do
Conclusion 3: there can be a ‘split’ within the self, between the ‘higher nature’ (rational, self-realizing), and the ‘lower desire’ (lazy, fearful)
Premise 4: in the real world, various elites have developed theories of the true nature of the ‘enlightened higher self’, which has a ‘higher stage’ of development
Premise 5: these conceptions of the ‘higher self’ are not compatible with the self-conceptions of many other people in society
Conclusion 6: to ‘liberate’ non believers, the elites use coercion and force. Those who resist are unfree, or not truly human
Freedom According to Gerland MacCallum
Freedom involves a triadic relationship
X is free form Y to do Z
Exercise Concept
One is free only to the extent that “one has effectively determined oneself and the shape of one’s life”
To be able to effectively exercise opportunities, one may need information, education, resources, and so on
First-order Desires
Direct motivations for actions
Second-order Desires
Dires about first-order desires
Taylor on Overcoming Berlin’s Concerns about Positive Liberty
Our social and political arrangements should assist people in exercising their conceptions of their lives
Mistaken Self-Conceptions
People can be mistaken about what their real purpose is (e.g., Charles Manson)
What is a Disability
Restriction in the ability to perform tasks; biologically caused; something that cannot be changed
Social Model of Disability
Something imposed on top of our impairments that prevents full participation in society
Berlin on Disabilities
Mere incapacity to attain a goal is not a lack of political freedom
Philip Cole’s Definition of Unfreedom
A is unfree to do X if
He lacks the power/ability to X
OR
He is prevent from X-ing or not X-ing by some external obstacle
AND
There is some other possible social arrangement where neither of these conditions would hold
The Alterability Thesis
It is a necessary condition for unfreedom that “there is some possible social arrangement” in which I have the relevant power, and I am not obstructed from using it
Cole on the Social Model of Disability
Supports the social model. Given that society is able to change social praactices, not doing so counts as a constraint on liberty
Strong Version of the Social Model of Disability
Disability is entirely a social phenomenon
Weak Version of the Social Model of Disability
Cole
Disability is not caused by natural impairment or by alterable social conditions, but by the combination of both
Philip Pettit - Power as a Constraint on Freedom
A constrains B’s freedom when:
A has the capacity to interfere
Their interference is arbitrary
In certain choices that A is in a position to make
Interference must be a human agent
Interfering agents must have “awareness of control”
“More or less” intentional
Problem with Domination according to Pettit
The victim of power is bound to change their behavior in anticipation of how to please their rulers. They cannot behave as they wish
The possibility of threat can have severe psychological impact
Pettit’s Suggestions to Prevent Arbitrary Dominance
Institutional norms/practices
Rule of law – applies equally to everyone
Democracy – creates systems of accountability
Constitutional control that protects the rights of minorities from the majority
Pettit’s Moralized Conception of Freedom
If the constraint was brought about in the right way (not arbitrary interference) then it is not a constraint on X’s freedom
Taylor also uses a moralized conception of freedom
Pettit on Intentionality
Interference must involve an intentional attempt to worsen an agent’s situation of choice
Sarah Krause on Intentionality
Pettit’s account is too restrictive, often times there are subtle ways that agents exert power over others
Domination can be enacted by agents who mean well and who themselves are dominated by norms
Krause: Freedom as Non-Oppression
Means living in a society that lets you live your agency to the fullest, without hindering it by patterns of stigmas, systematic patterns of prejudice, and privilege
My Bondage and My Freedom
Book written by Frederick Douglass; explores his life journey from birth to when he became free
Standing to Talk about Freedom
Davis says free men do not have the best experience to talk about freedom because they do not know what it is truly like to be unfree
Kind Master
Douglass rejects this possibility, unlike Pettit
The very relationship of mastery corrupts the soul and makes it inevitable that the master will abuse the enslaved
Mrs. Auld
Taught Douglass how to read, her husband stopped her from doing so once he found out
She struggles with that, but eventually becomes cruel
Davis on Douglass
Davis says that the road to freedom requires both a physical and psychological journey
Personal resistance is necessary to achieve freedom
Resistance must be physical, violent, and open
Covey
In MBMF, Douglass stands up to his cruel master Covey in a physical struggle
Insists his actions were self-defense to prevent future abuse
Davis on Covey
The fight with Covey restored in Douglass a sense of identity and dignity
Why are Slaveholders Unfree
They lose their humanity
The master’s sense of identity and selfhood revolve around the submission of others
Capitalism
An economic system that revolves around private property and competitive markets
Minimal state role; mostly enforcing contract and protecting property rights
Socialism
An economic system where the means of production are collectively owned, typically by the state
Goods such as health and education are centrally provided
Right-Libertarianism
Liberty requires the least government in all areas of life
Self-ownership
Each of us fully owns ourself. No one has a right to our body and our mind or our talents
What Kind of Liberty does Nozick Advocate For
Negative liberty
Justifications for interference in one’s affairs are to prevent “aggression” against another” and protection against “life, health, liberty, or possessions”
Nozick on Self-Ownership
Nozick believes that self ownership is the basis upon which our moral system and what we owe to each other are founded
Nozick’s Conception of Rights
We only have negative rights
Positive Rights
Associated with positive and republican liberty
Rights that require others to provide certain benefits or services, or secure some needs
Nozick on Property Rights
Our right to ourselves also ground our rights to things outside us
Original Acquisition
If there is an unowned resource, and we mix our labor with it, we come to own that resource
The Lockean Proviso
A person may appropriate resources as long as the original acquisition would not make worse off by the appropriation
Nozick on Private Property
Private property creates incentives for people to improve what they own
As long as they improve what they own, the proviso is not violated, no one can complain their negative liberties are affected
Legitimate Ways to Transfer Resources
Gifts, rewards, remuneration, inheritance, bestowment
Illegitimate Ways to transfer Resources
Deliberate coercive interference
The Minimal State
Nozick says the only function of the state should be to protect against force, theft, fraud, and the enforcement of contracts
Rejects redistribution of resources through taxation
How do Positive and Republican Liberals Argue What a Free Society Should Look Like
A free society is one in which inequalities are controlled and everyone has access to sufficient resources to achieve positive freedom
Libertarian Response 1
Taxation curtails the positive liberties of the rich
A society with established norms of equality curtails individualism
Simply a lack of resources does not mean a lack of freedom
Gary Cohen’s Definition of Freedom
A is restricted if I would be interfered with if I were to try to do A, and not merely if I am actually interfered with
A system of property rights is a system of constraints on negative freedom
In capitalist societies, people can ‘overcome’ restrictions on negative liberty using money
Money is a form of social power, and it confers freedom
Poor people, who lack resources, are liable to interference
Gary Cohen on Poverty
Poverty is a lack of negative freedom, because the lack of money carries with it a direct liability to interference
Libertarian Reply to Cohen (Nozick and John Gray)
What we are free to do depends on what we have a right to do–a moralized conception of freedom
Private property is a system that protects people’s justified entitlements and rights
Not constraints on negative liberty, because they do not violate the rights of those who are interfered with
Difference between Cohen and Gray’s Definition of Negative Liberty
Cohen: your negative liberty is constrained whenever you face deliberate interference
Gray: your negative liberty is constrained only when you face deliberate interference in what you had a right to do in the first place
What Time Period was Marx Responding to When He Wrote the Communist Manifesto
The industrial revolution
Urbanization
Expansion of labor market
Colonialism
Marx on Human Nature
Human beings have the unique capacity to create or produce creatively
Innovation and creativity is the essence of humanity
Marx on Human Socialability
Human beings are communal; their labor in the world is a result of a collective effort of the whole human race
Contrast to classical liberal accounts of human nature, which place an emphasis on individualism
Marx’s View on Liberal Rights
He believes they place too much emphasis on individualism, which is against human nature
Marx rejects the idea that the type of liberty that society should maximize is negative liberty
Historical Materialism
Human society develops through its relation to the material world and what it can produce
Base and Structure
Base: the productive forces at our disposal: the plough, the loom, the engine, the computer, etc.
Structure: the relationship classes to these forces of production (users/owners, etc.)
Super-structure: all other non-economic parts of society, such as the state, law, politics, religion, art, philosophy, and ideology
Super-structure arises from the existing economic structure
Marx’s View on Capitalism
The industrial revolution brought with it a new developmental change, one which would bring about the end of history
Capitalism has pushed society into two opposing classes: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat
Marx’s Critique of Capitalism
Capitalism is doomed to fail for two reasons
It is radically exploitative
The capitalists own all forces of production, and the workers have no choice but to rent their labor power to the capitalists
The worker works for very low wages, but they produce things which have surplus value
Capitalists take the surplus value of the product for themselves, making a profit
The worker remains with the very low wages, never able to escape poverty
It alienates all members of society from their true human nature
Alienation from product
Alienation from the labor
Alienation from human nature (homo faber)
Alienation from other workers
Features of a Communist Society
Collective control of the means of production
All members of society will be looked after
There will be abundance, solidarity, and cooperation
Capitalist economic structure and super structure will be replaced by a different structure which reflect the authentic nature of human beings, as creative beings
Communist Freedom
In a communist society, where no one has economic power over another, there will be equality and freedom from domination
How Will the Working Class Gain Power
When the working class gains enough political power, they could take democratic control over the institions of the state and trandsform them so that they serve the needs of everyone
Alluded to some violence
Objections to Marx
In a communist society, the state will only administer production using predictive powers
How will the state know how much is needed without price signaling? They cannot know how much exactly. They have to force the population to conform to what they have centrally decided is needed – coercion
In a communist society, the working class will desire no power for itself
All power corrupts–the dictatorship stage would not end. People would refuse to give up power
The liberal state restricts the tendency of corruption through constitutional mechanisms
Anna Wheeler – Why is Capitalism Bad for Women
Women are burdened with child rearing responsibilities from the get go, they are unable to obtain resources and are less competitive in the labor marker
Women are not compensated for their child rering responsibilities
The male (husband) is designated as the property owner
Women have no control over their property, it is all their husbands
Solution is a socialist society where child rearing responsibilities are communal
Why Socialism Might not Work
Socialism is gender blind, does not treat gender as a separate category of oppression
Many socialist movements failed to remove gender barriers
In the Soviet Union, sexual harassment was largely treated as a non-issue
Why the Abolition of Family Might not Work
Communal child raising responsibilities might not work
The bond between a child and its parent is special
Who would actually raise the children? It always falls back to women
Regulated Capitalism
Regulated capitalism
Private ownership of capital
Free and open competitive markers
Free wage labor conditions
Nondiscrimination constraints
Ann Cudd – Why is Capitalism Good for Women?
Better standards of living for women
Life expectancy, level of economic resources, leisure time
Benefitted from technological advancements (sewing machine, dishwasher)
Individual rights
Capitalism is grounded in the idea of individual rights to one’s body
Includes women now
Undermining tradition
Capitalism created an economic incentive for women to go into the workforce, freeing them from traditional gender roles
Resisting adaptive preferences
Women are exposed to new ideas, roles, and opportunities, which counter traditional values and can foster a sense of self-worth
Capitalism doesn’t lead to disadvantage for women; it is the patriarchy
Capitalism & Gender – Negative Liberty
Women have more “freedoms from” actual interference
In traditional societies, women who tried to work, hold property, or trade were physically prevented from doing so
In traditional societies, women are more subject to bodily sexual abuse
Capitalism & Gender – Republican Liberty
Women are more protected from domination
Laws protect women against discrimination, and employers are held accountable for that
In the private sphere, women enjoy protection from domestic violence
Capitalism & Gender – Positive Liberty
Women are given the tools to develop their authentic selves
Women are freed from enslaving, demanding housework
Women are freed from internal barriers, such as adaptive preferences
Progressive Capitalism
Built on the foundation of regulatory capitalism, uses extensive institutional controls
Enforces and promotes non-discrimination in the workforce
Resists the unequal political influence of the rich
Offers an “economic floor”, ensuring no one falls below a level from which social mobility becomes impossible
High level taxation to fund social investments
Commodification of Sex
Capitalism implies that people should be able to sell their bodies/looks and that the price they get for their body/looks is determined by supply and demand
Established norms encourage women to present themselves as submissive, willing, ultimately catering to male fantasies
Capitalism’s Abelist Bias
Russell and Malhorta say that in pre-industrial societies, disabled persons had a productive role to play. They had functions in small scale economies where profit was not the core driver of the economy
With the rise of industrial capitalism, disabled people are defined as their relation to capitalism
They cannot rent their body to work, so they are seen as expendable
Why is the Social Model of Disability Wrong According to Russell
It focuses on improving the conditions of disabled people within the existing economic structure, which is doomed to fail because it will ultimately only end up helping a small number of disabled people
Russell says the entire logic of the system needs to be changed