Isaiah Berlin
Philosopher and historian of ideas (1909 to 1997) whose lecture Two Concepts of Liberty (1958) distinguished negative from positive liberty and defended value pluralism.
Isaiah Berlin did not write this page.
We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.
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Their wordsEverything is what it is: liberty is liberty, not equality or fairness or justice or culture, or human happiness or a quiet conscience.
↗Four Essays on Liberty (Oxford University Press, 1969): Two Concepts of Liberty (1958)archive.org All 4 from this book
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Their wordsThe necessity of choosing between absolute claims is then an inescapable characteristic of the human condition.
↗Four Essays on Liberty (Oxford University Press, 1969): Two Concepts of Liberty (1958)archive.org All 4 from this book
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Our reading
Political liberty, in the negative sense, is the area where a person can act unobstructed by others
Their wordsPolitical liberty in this sense is simply the area within which a man can act unobstructed by others.
↗Four Essays on Liberty (Oxford University Press, 1969): Two Concepts of Liberty (1958)archive.org All 4 from this book
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Our reading
Coercion means deliberate interference by others in the area where one could otherwise act
Their wordsCoercion implies the deliberate interference of other human beings within the area in which I could otherwise act.
↗Four Essays on Liberty (Oxford University Press, 1969): Two Concepts of Liberty (1958)archive.org All 4 from this book