The Nature and Limits of Liberty
ABSTRACT
The purpose of the conference was to discuss some important questions regarding the nature and limits of liberty: Does liberty consist in being able to do what one wants to do, or in the absence of coercion? Does liberty consist in being able to do what one believes is in one’s interest, or in being able to do what is in one’s true interest? How extensive are the justified limitations to the exercise of individual liberty? The discussion proceeded by considering three pairs of readings that suggest incompatible answers to these questions. Those readings include famous pieces by John Stuart Mill, Patrick Devlin, Isaiah Berlin, Charles Taylor, F. A. Hayek, and Harry Frankfurt.
READING LIST
Conference Readings
Berlin, Isaiah, “Two Concepts of Liberty (1958).” in Four Essays on Liberty, New York: Oxford University Press, 1969.
Devlin, Patrick. The Enforcement of Morals. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, Inc., 1996.
Frankfurt, Harry G. The Importance of What We Care About. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1982.
Hayek, Friedrich A. The Constitution of Liberty. London and New York: Routledge, 1960.
Mill, John Stuart. On Liberty. Edited by Elizabeth Rapaport. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 1978.
Taylor, Charles, “What is Wrong with Negative Liberty” In Four Essays on Liberty, New York: Oxford University Press, 1969. 174-193.