A Measure of Freedom
Published on 15. January 2004
Book
Paperback/Softback
324 pages
978-0-19-926749-1 (ISBN)
Description
It is often said that one person or society is 'freer' than another, or that people have a right to equal freedom, or that freedom should be increased or even maximized. Such quantitative claims about freedom are of great importance to us, forming an essential part of our political discourse and theorizing. Yet their meaning has been surprisingly neglected by political philosophers until now.
Ian Carter provides the first systematic account of the nature and importance of our judgements about degrees of freedom. He begins with an analysis of the normative assumptions behind the claim that individuals are entitled to a measure of freedom, and then goes on to ask whether it is indeed conceptually possible to measure freedom.
Adopting a coherentist approach, the author argues for a conception of freedom that not only reflects commonly held intuitions about who is freer than whom but is also compatible with a liberal or freedom-based theory of justice.
Ian Carter provides the first systematic account of the nature and importance of our judgements about degrees of freedom. He begins with an analysis of the normative assumptions behind the claim that individuals are entitled to a measure of freedom, and then goes on to ask whether it is indeed conceptually possible to measure freedom.
Adopting a coherentist approach, the author argues for a conception of freedom that not only reflects commonly held intuitions about who is freer than whom but is also compatible with a liberal or freedom-based theory of justice.
Reviews / Votes
Review from previous edition excellent book ... incisive ... does a great deal to revitalize a traditional and intuitively appealing strand of liberal thought... The book is a stimulating contribution to the literature on liberalism. * Thomas Hurka, TLS * Carter makes a significant contribution to contemporary reflection about freedom... a tour de force... a philosophical treat: anybody interested in thinking about freedom should take notice. * Mathias Risse, Ethics * Excellent ... Those interested in philosophical issues about liberty will find this book very worthwhile ...bristles with interesting ideas, arguments, and perspectives... an interesting and provacative book. * James W. Nickel, Law and Philosophy * the book leaves advocates and opponents of the freedom-based theory of justice with a challenging research agenda. * Jurgen de Wispelare, Political Studies * ambitious and challenging... A Measure of Freedom will... provide a large measure of satisfaction to readers with a taste for provocative and inventive philosophical argumentation. * Dan Hausman, The Economic Journal *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
4 figures
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
494 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-926749-1 (9780199267491)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Ian Carter
A Measure of Freedom
Book
03/1999
Oxford University Press
€256.40
Shipment within 15-20 days
Person
(Research Fellow, Dipartimento di Studi Politici e Sociali, Universita di Pavia, Italy)
Content
PART I: JUSTICE AND OVERALL FREEDOM; PART II: VALUE BASED FREEDOM; PART III: EMPRICAL FREEDOM; PART II: VALUE BASED FREEDOM; PART III: EMPRICAL FREEDOM