What Can a Political Realist Believe in? Bernard Williams and his Conception of Freedom

Abstract

The aim of the text is to critically analyse the “realist” conception of freedom found in the political thought of Bernard Williams. Contrary to the main focus of contemporary realist literature, which mostly develops arguments trying to establish the uniqueness of the realist methodology (which can supposedly be contrasted with all “mainstream” contemporary political philosophers), this paper aims at uncovering Williams’ understanding of the roots of political values. The target of our analysis is Williams’ argumentation in the paper “From freedom to liberty: The construction of a political value”. There, he formulates a conception of political freedom, which is based on feelings of resentment and restraint. The paper then systematically explores the possibility of such “emotional” conception of freedom, with its problems and advantages.