Tuesday 16 December 2008

Call for papers - Isaiah Berlin



5th ECPR General Conference-Potsdam. Political Theory


In 2009 we will celebrate the centenary of the great philosopher, historian of ideas and political thinker, Isaiah Berlin. Such anniversary is an opportunity to assess his legacy and to evaluate the lasting influence of his thought on some of the most important contemporary political debates.
To do that, we have organized three panels that are hosted within the OPEN SECTION:

482. Republican Liberty One Concept Too Many?
488. Value pluralism and multiculturalism.
489. Liberalism and the search for foundations.

The first, will deal with the lively controversies about the concept of freedom, and in particular with Berlin’s famous distinction between negative and positive liberty, now challenged by the neo-republicans (f.e. Skinner, 1990, 2001; Pettit, 1993, 1997, 2001: Crowder, 2004). The second, will be centered on the analysis of the impact of Berlin´s value pluralism on current debates on multiculturalism (f.e. Tamir, 1998; Kateb,1999; Miller, 2006) . The third, will focus on his defence of liberalism as the political regime which is best suited to accommodate value pluralism, and will be also a contribution to the debate of the foundations of contemporay liberalism (f.e. Gray, 2000, 2006; Crowder, 2006; Kekes, 1997,1998; Galston, 2002).

The panels are meant as a tribute to Berlin, but we hope they will give those attending the conference also the occasion to measure the present strenght of liberal thought and its ability to cope with the new challenges that our societies are undergoing. In particular its treatment of diversity and its conception of the limits of State intervention in the citizen’s life.

Elena Garcia Guitian

Mario Ricciardi

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