One Concept of Liberty: Towards Writing the History of a Political Concept1

In a certain sense, we are still captivated by what one may call "the Ferguson-Constant paradigm." [...]in order to criticize successfully the philosophical idea of several concepts of liberty, one should point first to the faults of the historical claim behind it. Metaphorical usages woul...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of the history of ideas Vol. 71; no. 2; p. 219
Main Author Podoksik, Efraim
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania Press 01.04.2010
Subjects
Classical literature
Connotation
Greek literature
Historians
Metaphor
Military personnel
Philosophers
Politics
Thucydides (471-400 BC)
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Summary:In a certain sense, we are still captivated by what one may call "the Ferguson-Constant paradigm." [...]in order to criticize successfully the philosophical idea of several concepts of liberty, one should point first to the faults of the historical claim behind it. Metaphorical usages would be usually strongly dependent on the negative meaning of the concept, and only by virtue of this connection to the negative meaning would they retain their emotional appeal. [...]occasionally both the ancient and modern ages have produced idiosyncratic philosophers who would be more than happy to endeavor to transform the common concept of liberty into something unrecognizable, though philosophically more satisfying.
ISSN:0022-5037
1086-3222