What is Freedom? Are we free?
The concept of
freedom is one that has prevailed as a popular debate topic for years. The very
foundation of countries was built on the concept of freedom. In addition, the
idea of free will and fate are highly discussed in mostly religious aspects. In
this paper I will explore the topic of freedom and free will.
Freedom is defined as “the absence of
necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action” as well as “liberation
from slavery or restraint or from the power of another”. The essence of freedom
according to these definitions appears to lie in the ability to act as one
pleases to their fullest extent. Many people would consider someone such as
myself, the typical college student to be free. I agree with the claim that I
am, to some extent, free, but I do not think I am completely free. I do not
think anyone can ever be completely free.
There
are multiple degrees of freedom to which a person can be considered free. When
one is enslaved and cannot do anything they wish to, they have little to no
freedom. I say little because there is the possibility they still have the
freedom to do things such as eat, shower, or other things that they want to do.
Even though majority of their life is dedicated to doing the bidding of
another, the individual can still do things they want to sometimes.
There is also the
middle range of freedom, which affects someone such as myself. For example, I
am free to go to college if I wish, or work if I wish. But other things such as
caring what others think, money, and health limit me. When one cares what
others think, they may not always act as though they want to due to the
possible social repercussions. Many people are limited by money, as in not
having enough and therefore having to work a job they do not want to in order
to survive. Health can slightly to severely limit individuals based on the
infliction.
Then there is the
possibility of being completely free with no restraints whatsoever. As humans
this degree of freedom is not possible because of bodily restraints. Humans are
never free to fly or run eighty miles per hour in the body they have. Bodily
restraints are different for each individual. Someone who is 5’3” has more
restraints in terms of height than a 6’5” person. Someone who is in a
wheelchair has more restraints than someone who is able bodied.
Freedom and choice
is not the same thing. Freedom is the ability to choose to do or not do
something. Choice is defined as “an act of selecting or making a decision when faced with two or
more possibilities”. One always has a choice. For example, if someone told
another to give them money or they would shoot them, many would say the
individual can either give the money or choose to get shot. However, the
individual can also attempt to run, fight back, and more. There is never only
one option for an individual to take. You have the freedom to choose between
two options. Even one who is enslaved has the option to obey, take punishment,
or try to escape.
The idea that one
has the power to make choices in his or her life is free will. Free will is
defined as “the power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate”
and “the ability to act at one’s own discretion”. Essentially, free will is the
ability to make ones own choices without the interference of fate. If one
believes in free will, then they believe that every choice they made is their
own and was not predetermined.
This contrast to
free will is determinism. Determinism states, “All events, including human
action, are predetermined”. Determinism would say that everything ever has led
up to me writing this paper and there is no other outcome that could have
occurred based on everything else that has happened. This can get tricky
because the idea basically says that there no way that any other outcome could
occur, so then people are not responsible for their actions. If that is the
case, it is difficult to hold people to the law because it was predetermined
that they were going to break the law and there is nothing they could have done
about it.
There are two
types of determinism, soft determinism and hard determinism. Hard determinism
is incompatible with freedom and holds that ones actions are predetermined and
one has no control over their actions. Soft determinism holds that we are
determined, but still free. As long as one is the cause of their action, then
it was free action and not necessarily predetermined. Soft determinism leans
more towards the idea that some things are predetermined, but one still has
choice, which can shift their predetermined path.
As I stated
previously, one always has a choice. I do not think that everything is
predetermined, though some things may be. Free will and the ability to choose
are active in ones life, as is freedom. Freedom is active in individuals lives
in different capacities based on the degree of freedom they are living under. Regardless
of the presence of a God or gods, I strongly believe that each individual
shapes their own life through their choices. I do not buy into the idea of fate
or destiny; instead it is up to the individual. However, I, or anyone else, cannot
know for sure. There is always the possibility that everything is
predetermined, but it seems very unlikely to me. Determinism operates under a
‘cause-and-effect’ idea, in which because event A and event B happened, there
could be no other event other than event C produced from A and B. However, we
have no way of knowing that A and B will always cause C.
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