Leiden University Student Repository

Nasiri, Shahin (2015)

A Path to Freedom: A methodological study

Master thesis | Philosophy (MA) (60 EC)

In the western philosophical tradition, the notion of ‘freedom’ has been approached as a ‘concept’. A concept is a philosophical tool to establish a definite representation of the addressed notion. In this sense, the conceptual approach to freedom has, in the modern era, led to the formulation of two dominant concepts of freedom, i.e. positive and negative concept of freedom. The conceptual approach to freedom holds sway over the current legal, political, sociological, and philosophical debates. This methodological study puts the adequacy of this approach into question. As such, the main task of this research is to articulate a complex method, whereby one could rethink the notion of ‘freedom’ from the standpoint of the other. This method of inquiry will be cultivated, through the exploration and examination of Heidegger’s phenomenological method, Wittgenstein’s account of linguistic meaning and Castoriadis’s social-historical approach. The dialogical composition of these three...Show moreIn the western philosophical tradition, the notion of ‘freedom’ has been approached as a ‘concept’. A concept is a philosophical tool to establish a definite representation of the addressed notion. In this sense, the conceptual approach to freedom has, in the modern era, led to the formulation of two dominant concepts of freedom, i.e. positive and negative concept of freedom. The conceptual approach to freedom holds sway over the current legal, political, sociological, and philosophical debates. This methodological study puts the adequacy of this approach into question. As such, the main task of this research is to articulate a complex method, whereby one could rethink the notion of ‘freedom’ from the standpoint of the other. This method of inquiry will be cultivated, through the exploration and examination of Heidegger’s phenomenological method, Wittgenstein’s account of linguistic meaning and Castoriadis’s social-historical approach. The dialogical composition of these three perspectives enables us to give birth to a new complex method, by which one could investigate the notion of ‘freedom’ from the standpoint of the other.Show less

Freedom

Otherness

phenomenology

the social-historical

Imaginary signification

ordinary language analysis

Author

Nasiri, Shahin

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

MA

Supervisors

Sneller, H.W.

ECTS Credits

20

Language

en