How does Freedom work?

Question

i'm a little lost on this, because of consequences.
here are some defintions i got from dictionary.com

1. the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint
2. exemption from external control, interference, regulation, etc.
3. the power to determine action without restraint.

to me it seem like freedom is just myth, or an idea. if anyone could give me some insight on this that would be great! =)

I'm thinking that freedom isn't 100%, that we as humans can never be truely free.

Wow.....how is this. I embrace the freedom to be a good person and help others.

Answer 1

Great question... I accord it the STAR status it deserves.

Freedom is an unreal concept. Everything in this universe, whether live or inanimate, is bound by the universal cause and effect syndrome.

Philosophically speaking, our very state of being means that we are not truly free. We believe we have the free will to make choices.... but the options are given and it is further questionable whether we make our choice freely... after all there are a lot of factors that influence our choice, the prime most among them is self-interest as perceived by us..... and this self-interest as perceived by us is the greatest binding we suffer... therefore, our very being is lack of freedom.

However, there is no reason for us to rue our lack of freedom, because we feel happy only when we bind ourselves either by goodwill or love or devotion or duty.

Answer 2

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 breathe 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 3

___If you look for 100% in everything, that makes you an absolutist. And not finding 100% is not justification for denying the reality of something. What about 95%? 80%, even 10%? Are these equivalent with falsity or non-existence?
___Turn it around. Is constraint a myth because I can wiggle my pinky?
___People have freedom if they are able to exercise powers of mobility, speech, clothing purchases, etc. It's relative. We all have some constraints: gravity, for one. Freedom is meaningless without power to do something with it. Dead people have no freedom. Freedom and power are the bases of moral responsibility. You break it, you own it, and so on.
___Too much freedom gets very depressing and confusing. If you're totally free, you don't have any basis, any predetermined circumstances in response to which to make choices. It's like trying to get traction in quicksand.
___Every time you exercise freedom, you determine some circumstance, and thereby eliminate that chunk of freedom. You might be free to go back and do something over, but only with a new action, new effort, etc.
___A little more controversial: freedom is self-creating. the more you create, the more you have. If you tell yourself it's a "myth", you're making less of it for yourself. This is a case where something's being in the eye of the beholder doesn't mean it isn't real. Just as anxiety can multiply itself if you indulge it, so can freedom, because so much of it begins with the ability to mentally construct choices out of available circumstances. If you get lemons, you can make lemonade.
___This capacity can grow with age, into adulthood. It takes years to acquire familiarity with freedom, and the consequences of its exercise.
Hunger is an impingement, a constraint, but without it, I wouldn't be choosing what to eat.
___Last thing: as a human, you don't have the freedom to avoid suffering. It will find you now and then, so don't delude yourself into thinking that if you really had freedom, you'd be able to escape. It doesn't work that way. When the crap comes, just exercise your freedom not to wallow in it, get impatient, or blame everyone else in sight. If you build yourself up to think you are entitled to the freedom of avoiding pain, your disappointment will be all the more bitter. Just enjoy yourself, and have some faith that whatever bad stuff comes, others have had it worse, and you can get through it and learn from it.

Answer 4

freedom will only be applicable if you have freedom in rational, a sense of logic and most important of all, if you have freedom in total perspective. The reason for the need to have being free in perspective is because one who wants to appreciate freedom and what it really defines is understanding that in order to be free we have to respect authority, law and order and all its precepts. There is no such thing (which is good) as total and absolute freedom such as being able to do whatever you want to do. Me? Okay, I'll use myself as an example to make my point. I can feel free to climb up on a fourty story building and jump off but my freedom to that will cost me dearly, or, I can use my freedom to do whatever I want regardless of the outcome like break into the doughnut shop just because it is my freedom? No, I don't think so, so my point is this: The only way anyone will be able to enjoy freedom to the full is if law and order are fully honored and respected, so come on all you desperado's, wake up and smell the coffee, roses and daisies.

Answer 5

I think there has to be a balance. Liberty is being able to think for yourself and go where you want and do what seems best to you. Being free to make your own choices is one thing, but choosing to hurt someone or something has to be controlled by someone in authority.

Everyone will always have someone over them, from parents, to police, to federal government, to God himself.

So I guess it would depend on the choice you want to make to decide whether freedom is a myth. If you want make something of yourself, America will let you do that if you work hard. If you aspire to be a pot farmer, you'll have to look for a country that is kosher with that. ;)

***2 cents added***

Answer 6

If you think that you think like Diderot who said that the word "Freedom" had no sense because we are what agrees to the general order, to the organization, to the chain of facts"
For Kant the moral dimension of freedom appears essential : "The autonomy who makes the majesty of man is to follow a reasonable will that obeys only to its own rules" !
Nietzsche thinks that we should have the universal knowledge to "mathematically calculate" all the human actions, but if our knowledge was universal it would reveal that freedom is an illusion.....................
I could give many more examples to show you one thing......You were free to ask this question and I felt free to give this answer !!!

Answer 7

It works the same way all illusions work. First You convince your self that it is true.

Ignore all evidence that does not support the illusion of freedom and focus carefully on any perceptual interpretations that support it.

Love and blessings Don

Answer 8

YOU ARE CORRECT.

Freedom of will is an illusion. Free will is a myth.

Answer 9

we say a trout is free in the wilds but the trouts freedom is limited to the water so is he free in the wilds ?all freedom comes with its bounderys and when we live with in those bounderys we are free. it is when we go to far that we become traped and no longer free