Abstract

VILLANUEVA, Enrique. Law and freedom. Cuest. Const. [online]. 2011, n.25, pp.293-313. ISSN 1405-9193.

This paper deals with the relationship between metaphysical and legal freedom. Metaphysical freedom is challenged by Mechanism, but cannot be neglected by human beings, whereas legal freedom reduces to what is permitted, ordered, or prohibited by legal norms. it might be that legal freedom is metaphysical freedom despite some asymmetries between them. Moreover, legal freedom could be considered in its positive sense and applied to promote the flourishing of persons. Thus it is proposed a reading of the mexican Constitution in a way that the right to education stated in article 3o. would provide citizens with a number of capacities and dispositions strong enough to resist any diminishing or supressing of such personal liberties as the liberty of religious belief, the liberty of expression and the liberty of movement. Furthermore, assuring those liberties will bring about a kind of robust, creative, flourishing human beings.

Keywords : metaphysical freedom; legal freedom; Constitution; positive freedom; negative freedom; mechanistic model.