Abstract:
This article revisits Isaiah Berlin’s thought through the lens of Ronald Dworkin’s criticisms of Berlin´s value pluralism (VP). The article begins by defining the four main elements of VP. It then goes on to present Dworkin’s two central criticisms of VP. The paper then revisits Isaiah Berlin’s work, highlighting his particular approach to ethics and the alternatives he identifies for dealing with conflicting values. We argue that Berlin recognizes that ethics is a normative theoretical domain and that his pluralism suggests that compensatory exchanges between values can serve as a way out of value conflicts. Throughout the text, we emphasize pluralism’s commitment to the values of freedom of choice, autonomy and diversity.
Keywords:
Isaiah Berlin; value pluralism; Ronald Dworkin; freedom of choice; diversity; autonomy