Issues of Freedom: Paradoxes and Promises

Planned and Edited by Ruth Nanda Anshen

Although this work amounts to a philosophical essay, it was conceived as an introduction to a history of freedom. For this purpose I found it necessary to consider freedom in relation to culture as a whole, not merely to the state. I have likewise viewed it in a considerably longer, wider perspective than thinkers were able to before this century, in which there has been a vast deal of research in history, sociology, and anthropology. In such a perspective the subject of freedom grows more complex, and does not readily permit the logical rigor and precision to which many philosophers aspire; but I must hope that it is also illumined. My main concern has been the basic, not the immediate issues of freedom, and my main purpose an objective analysis, not a prescription or a call to arms. Inevitably, however, I have written with the immediate issues in mind. I continually refer to them, in part for the sake of concrete illustration, but also for their own sake. And I make no pretense of utter objectivity, given a subject in which we all have deep commitments. My analysis has been influenced by preconceptions, my conclusions come down to a credo. I should maintain only that I have endeavored to lay on the table, face up, all the premises of my commitments, and that my preconceptions are not mere prejudices, unconscious or unreasoned.

WORLD PERSPECTIVES • Volume Twenty-three, 1960, 181p.