ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that freedom is best understood as a dynamic interaction between two inseparable yet fundamentally opposed positive and negative concepts. Negative freedom is the freedom to pursue one’s own well-being, while positive freedom is the freedom we exercise as moral agents. Negative freedom is about one’s capacity to advance one’s well-being, but well-being implies some engagement with the common good. The difference from positive freedom is that negative freedom allows one more space to experiment with values and ideals. The boundary which Constant drew around modern liberty and the wall Berlin raised to protect negative freedom in order to shield individuals from the moral pressures society puts them under were created for the purpose or preserving one’s potential to develop as a human being. Understanding personal development and being able to assess the nature of its objectives is crucial for the exercise of both positive and negative freedom.
