Two concepts of liberty: 60 years after its publication

Abstract

This paper proposes a critical analysisof the essay "Two concepts of Liberty", by Isaiah Berlin. We compare the editions of 1958, 1969 and the oral dictation of 1957, in light of earlier and later works. We discuss the criticisms of the essay authored by Crawford Brough MacPherson, Gerald MacCallum Jr., Charles Taylor and James Tully. We also take into consideration different interpretations of Isaiah Berlin's works, the ones made by John Gray and George Crowder. For the interpretation of the essay, the idea of "Value Pluralism", present throughout the work of Berlin, was mobilized, for which the foundations are: cultural diversity and the subject's decision regarding ultimate values. In any case, since there is some theoretical instability in the concept of Value Pluralism, a new grounding for the concept will be sought, based on its contemporary interpretations.