Isa Bilgen

• The question of the relationship between freedom and security is characteristic of the discourse in times of crisis. In the coronavirus pandemic, too, society is faced with the challenge of how a democratic order can overcome the security crisis while preserving its fundamental principles, such as individual freedom as a highest value. This article explores this question. Following Axel Honneth, it is based on a social concept of freedom, which understands a social coexistence of people in security as essential for freedom in general. Freedom and security are interpreted dialectically and are accordingly not regarded as bipolar opposites, but as a unity. Considering deontological and consequentialist approaches, the text simultaneously assumes a primacy of social freedom. This is due to its dialectical nature. Because of its social character, freedom also implies mutual responsibility between individuals.