Speaker B in Liberty
The interlocutor whose objections test A’s account of freedom.
The book
Who they are in the book
Spoiler-freeSpeaker B supplies questions and resistance in the article Liberty from Voltaire’s Philosophical Dictionary. His changing responses let readers follow the argument’s difficulty. The examples are hypothetical tests, rather than a consistent personal biography.
How the book draws them
- A concession about hearingB admits that he cannot stop himself hearing nearby gunfire. Agreement begins with a limit on conscious control.
- A wish for safetyB says that he cannot want a shot to kill him or his family while he is of sound mind.
- Resistance to the animal comparisonB objects that A’s definition puts him alongside his hunting dog. He appeals to human reasoning as a difference.
- Reliance on familiar sayingsB repeats claims that wishes are free. A’s questions make him try to state what those expressions mean.
- Testing apparently arbitrary choicesB asks whether choosing odd or even in a game requires a reason. The example challenges A’s claim about causes.
- Qualified acceptanceB ends by saying that A may be right and that he will think further. The dialogue closes with consideration rather than a triumphant conversion.
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