Are we truly free?

Question

We are limited by so much. Is freedom just a dream?

Answer 1

Good question. The answer depends on your perception. To be free to some could mean to be able to do whatever they want to with no consequences. That is impossible. Even if there were no laws, there are still consequences to our actions. We cannot escape the laws of nature, like gravity. If a man has intercourse with a woman, she could get pregnant or one of them could get a disease, being bound by the laws of nature.

Regardless, some consider the fact that the US is a free country to be a reason for them to do what they want. A saying that I despise is any that start with the words 'I have the right...' All rights and freedoms should end as soon as they infringe on the rights and freedoms of the other person. Take for instance smoking. Everyone has the right to smoke. Everyone also has the right to breath clean air. And so the debate escalates sometimes to the point of violence because neither side wants to give in or give up their rights. Freedom is a wonderful thing, but when people try to take advantage of other people's freedoms, it ruins it. I believe that if we all thought more of others than we do ourselves, we would have less freedoms, but we would be much happier than we are with more freedoms.

Answer 2

I like Lord Acton's line:

"Freedom is the ability to do what we ought to, and not to do whatever we want."

That's because the first is liberty, the second is anarchy. There is a thin but distinct line between the two.

Countries are like "benevolent dictators", you count on them to protect your rights and your safety, and even well-being, but you will have to give up your right to do anything you want, so long as that thing is not under that countries' constitution, or under corporate law, for that matter.

The point is that freedom is not doing anything you want to do. You could go stark naked running around in public, but what would that do to others? And all the same, that's using your "freedom" to take the real one away (You will probably be punished for that).

So long as you do what you ought to, and have the ability to do so, there is no need to be "free" in that you can do anything you want. If you do what you ought to, the right thing, you won't have to worry about the problem of taking your freedom away using your "freedom", because you aren't exercising te latter anyway.

Answer 3

Freedom is an illusion really. None of us are truly free, we just have a degree of freedom. We are 'allowed' to make certain choices freely, but on the whole we are controlled by various methods to keep us going through the daily grind.

Answer 4

We are only limited by our own self-imposed limitations. Freedom is something that we fight for, on a personal level as well as a global level. Freedom is not free.

“All the great things are simple; many can be expressed in a single word: freedom; justice; honor; duty; mercy; hope”

“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” MLK

“Ultimately we know deeply that the other side of every fear is freedom.”

“He who is brave is free.” ~ Seneca

“Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

“Freedom in general may be defined as the absence of obstacles to the realization of desires” ~ Bertrand Russell

“While we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions.”

“If you are not free to choose wrongly and irresponsibly, you are not free at all”

Answer 5

Being free and freedom are abstract concepts. Is the Asylum patient with no concept of reality truly free within his own mind?

I reccommend you read "The Stranger" by Albert Camus. (an enjoyable novel)
This should throw you some light on the existentialist view of freedom and free will.

Answer 6

Ultimately we're as free as we want to be. We all have the freedom of choice. However, total freedom does not exist when one lives in a society. In a societal environment total freedom equals anarchy. With this in mind, maybe the best rule would be 'do as you would be done by.'

Answer 7

Freedom is a illusion - choices we make have consiquences.
Trips to other countrys cost money which means you need a job a job keeps you from taking trips which means you are not free.

Freedom is a many-faceted, positive term encompassing the ability to act consciously, in a well-balanced manner and with self control in a given constructive direction.

Answer 8

We feel constrained only a part in our mind is not limited, and that part in our mind also realises our right to freedom and responsibilities of freedom. Freedom is a dream but this is a dream with a realistic potential for realisation into actual reality. We can be truly free but there is nothing is existence as absolute freedom. All notions of absolute freedom are in turn captivating for the mind, for search for the absolute freedom means a hopeless rebellion against the very reality that is the seat for the mind to develop, grow and venture into higher dimensions of existence. And desires for the purest forms of freedom can spell out death wish, so be warned!

Freedom, if an illusion, then it is the hardest one to catch. This illusion gets even more illusive when one tries to grab hold of it as if it were something singularly possessible and material - something that can be acquire unconditionally and then kept at will. The fact is that freedom like beauty, truth and justice manifests itself only through balanced, harmonious and jsut forms in existence, until they are realised into actual life through things, actions and thoughts. To beauty, for example, we need to see beauty in a flower or in any other form. And what is justice for us, until we see order, balance and harmony in things and situations. Freedom in similar way has no form of its own; freedom of things is not in its ability to act or exist absolutely freely, independently and irreverently; freedom of something is in its form most natural to it in its environment.

Human concept of freedom resides in the observation of moral and ethical principles, norms of society, writs of laws, and in assuming due responsibilities at required levels. Just as physical ailment takes away freedom of mobility, mental ailments and inhibitions can also cause imitativeness in the mind: guilt, resentments, regrets and memories all influence our mind space, or our personal sense of freedom. A society, or a nation cannot be free until it learns to defend it freedom, until it is responsible for its existence and sustenance, until it is able to maintain its state of free existence. And under no circumstances a nation, a person or a thing for that matter, can be absolutely free in existence, but all can be truly all the time.

Answer 9

Freedom is relative. We all have the freedom to make choices. There may be good or bad consequences to the choices. We are free to succeed and to fail. Yes, we are truely free.

Answer 10

There are those who think that life is nothing left to chance
A host of holy horrors to direct our aimless dance.

A planet of playthings,
We dance on the strings
Of powers we cannot perceive.
"The stars aren't aligned
Or the gods are malign"
Blame is better to give than receive.

You can choose a ready guide in some celestial voice.
If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.
You can choose from phantom fears and kindness that can kill
I will choose a path that's clear
I will choose free will.