What exactly is freedom?

Question: What exactly is freedom!?

This person says freedom can only exist with responsibility!. He consider anything outside of responsibility a crazy act, not freedom!.

I do not, i think freedom is doing anything you want!. Basically what your heart wants!. Doesnt really matter if its responsible or not!.

Who do you agree with and why!?Www@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

Freedom is the ability or capability to act!.

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If you have a sore shoulder and your joints are stiff then the freedom of movement is limited!. If you ar a contortionist who can do the splits you have greater freedom of movement of your joints!.

As to freedom of will, this has always been a more tricky question partly because will is sometimes seen as an unmoved force!. Despite the numerous pressures on our will such as duty, peer presure, and emotion; the final decision we will is seen as arbitrary!.

With modern brain science the posibility that our actions are controlled by circumstances rather than arbitrary choice, has become more plausible!.

It is possible for instance to wire your brain to a machine that will know what you will decide before you do it, and even print out your next thoughts (or choices) before you think them!.

It is also possible to stimulate your brain to recall memories or have religious visitations!.

In answer to your question doing what is responsible or what your heart wants are both equally free or unfree!.

If you are a slave to your emotions or a slave to reason you are still a slave, unless your are your resons and emotions or they are a part of what defines you!.

At the quantum level it appears that the universe is ultimately arbitrary, this may mean that everything has an element of freedom to it; and our thoughts, and the future, are not set by the past!.

It is however obvious that there are pressures on us which lead our actions to fairly predictable 90% of the time!.

If a wife is able to guess that her husband will kiss her before he leaves for work, it does not mean he is not free to do otherwise!. He may simply enjoy the experience and/or see no reason to break the habit!.

Your emotions are a part of you!. Transactional Analysis describes people as having three main parts of their personality!. Parent, Adult, and Child, with the Adult being the logical part that keeps the other two in ballance!. It is the child within us that enjoys life and wants immediate comforting!.

There is nothing wrong with satisfying your emotional needs, as long as a part of you is able to devise sensible ways of preventing you from doing things that will reduce your freedom to act!. If you get an emotional impulse to do vioence you might be arrested!. If you burn bridges in your relationships you may miss out on companionship!.

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Your emotional responses often originate in the right brain, whilst our logical calculations to calculate or justify actions are often right centered!. For this reason whispering sweet nothings is more effective in the left ear and giving instructions is more likely to be heard in the right!.

Somtimes our left brain might think one thing but our right brain may have an intution to the contrary!.

The left brain tends to think in ways that you can put into words and relies on formal logic or locical explanations to justify actions!. This fits with what we describe as our logical minds!. The left brain is more like a neural network computer that can give you good advice but can not put into words ho the conclusion was reached because it is made up from many mini impressions that are balanced to give an answer!.

If your heart or intuition is telling you something you should listen to it, and ballance your intuitions with your intellectual knowledge!.

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As well as the left right bias there are ballances between the mid brain and frontal lobes, with the forebrain being more itellectual and the mid brain being more concerned with basic reptilian instincts for survival!. Mamalian needs for social emotional needs are further out, with the human intellect stuck on the outside mostly behind the forehead!.

In everyday terms we say we think with our gut, heart, or head, but the actual thinking is in different parts of the brain!.

Admitedly the brain works together as a whole but our gut emotions are controlled more by our reptilian brain, our social needs by our mamalian brain and our human intellect by areas unique to humans!. Much of the time we only use this part to justify our actions, or put ourselves down, rather than controlling our lives to maximaize our freedom to enjoy life!.

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Often teenagers have more freedom when bound by their parents rules!. Rules or constraints protect us from things that would deinish our freedom!. Sending a teenager out in the world not knowing the rules on how best to act will often lead to the kid being stuck in a rut they are unable to get out of, giving them less choices in their daily life than what they had at home!. Kids who leave home for more freedom often find they have less free time, and less choices!.

Artists who have to work in confinded rules such as a set space or media, often come up with more creative works!.

Laws of logic find that wherever you make a choice, or add new possibilities that open new doors, on old door somewhere is closed forever!.

The net result is that whenever we exercise our freedom of choice there are some choices that we can no longer make!.

E!.g!. If you choose to marry , single life is lost!.

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Most likely the point that was trying to be put is that if you follow every whim of your emotions without ckecking that you are doing something stupid, your life will not go as smoothly as you would like!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

That begs the question, what if my heart wants to insure that you are not able to do all that your heart desires!?
Sorry but you will run into problems with your logic if that is the position you wish to assume about the issue of freedom!.
I will assume that you mean at the individual level, but even if we scale your position up to group levels the same question becomes relavent!.
This is a logicaly weak argument for freedom in my opinion!.
It does not follow unless you introduce the entittlement of the freedom to the individual!.
What you discribe would be covered by fatalism more readily than by freewill and the ability to act upon it!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

It depends if you are talking about your personal (ego centric) Freedom!
Or
Global human freedom!

The latter can not exist if people do not take the responsibility to know the limits of personal freedom!
One's freedom ends where another's starts!
If this is not followed then only those with power can be relatively Free, though never truly so! As even they are constrained by the force they must use to maintain their personal freedom!

Teach others by the example you set!Www@QuestionHome@Com

There are, in reality two types of freedom!.
There is freedom from oppression, in that any group of people may live without being put upon by an entity and forced to do their bidding!. In many countries, the citizens live under this type of oppression, never knowing of freedom!. They are, as a herd of sheep, being told when, how, and what to do each moment of their lives!.
Personal freedom is the most important freedom one can have!. Imagine living in a country where they test you to find what you have the greatest knowledge of and told, you can work only in this field, or, that you cannot marry whom you wish!. This would be depriving you of personal freedom and be as a prison for your mind!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I think freedom is strictly a concept like democracy - it's an ideal but fails to exist!. I think we've only enough freedom to support the status quo and the status quo is determined by a very select few!.

Can you think of anything meaningful that doesn't have a law or two attached to it!? Freedom's just an effective word that conjures up pretty images and evokes warm fuzzy feelings!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I agree with you that freedom is when you do whatever you want, whenever you want!.

I think it's that way because with responsibilities, you will NEVER actually be free, know what I mean!? Even if it's just a tiny responsibility it will still drag you down from being completely free!.

:) To me, freedom would be the ability to fly!.!.!.
(to all you pessimists out there: don't judge me because I want to fly! secretly, you all want to, too!.)Www@QuestionHome@Com

If it is just what your heart wants, then doesn't David Hume's phrase remain truthful as ever: "Reason is the slave of the Passions"!?

So, in other words, you define freedom as being the slave of the heart!.

You can never be fully free - you are only free to decide whose slave you want to be!.
Money, God, idols, book, society, power, ego, your heart, spouse, career, love, etc!.

Freedom is to do what is right when you can equally do wrong!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

freedom is an illusion of perception
it is bound to the idea that there is bondage
if you believe you are bound then you will wish for freedom
one idea does not exist without the other

nothing is truly in bondage
everything is in relationship to something else
if you see this relationship in a negative way you will desire freedom from itWww@QuestionHome@Com

The American definition is that given by US Supreme court Justice Marshall [1821!?] I love it:

U have the freedom to sing your arm as long as u don't hit someone nearby!.

American laws [which I love]: U don't have the right to scream "fire" [for fun] in a crowded theater!.

also u don't have the right to plan a revolution [like the confederates or Timothy McVeigh]!. [Don't mean to insult Southern culture!Www@QuestionHome@Com

Simply put freedom is free thinking and free action and yes, what your heart wants!. !.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!. Responsibility is a different issue alltogather!. what the society wants is conformity with social norms and not unregulated freedom!. Now its up to a person whether to follow unrestricted freedom OR freedom with responsibility !.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Freedom is Dancing in the Rain!

Unmindful of the public stares and glares, smiles and smirks!
Unmindful of your mom's warning you'd catch cold or fever, threatening you wouldn't be allowed in with all the water dripping!.

If you're willing to take responsibilty, feel free to roll in the mud!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

"Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose!."
“Me and Bobby McGee,” by Kris KristoffersonWww@QuestionHome@Com

I agree!.

The next question is how you choose to behave when you have freedom!. Do we do good or bad to other people!?Www@QuestionHome@Com