To live fully, one must live free. The concept of freedom is a fundamental subject in philosophy especially in the political aspect of it. What is freedom? When can we say we are free?
There are two possible definitions that Isaiah Berlin offered in his 'Two Concepts of Liberty', that of positive and negative liberty.
Essentially, negative liberty is what we think of when we hear the word freedom. It pertains to the kind of liberty wherein we are not impeded by external forces like the law.
On the other hand, positive liberty is having the capacity to exercise your autonomy and do what you seek to accomplish or pursue. But in the course of choosing to do what you want, there are other variables that might influence your freedom.
The matter of self-mastery crosses over into the topics of autonomy and the self. The modern version of this idea links the self to higher-order desires: desires about desires, such as a desire to wean oneself off a craving for caffeine or social media. A self that is successfully identified with these (literally) more elevated desires is now often said to be autonomous. Autonomy, then – like positive liberty – involves having one’s ‘baser’ wishes and urges well in hand.
Not to mention the influence of social institutions that shape our perspective on what is and is not accepted by society. These forces help shape false consciousness according to Michel Foucault and they work to maintain the status quo.
In this case, the concept requires then for a person to have a variety of options or alternatives since then, you will have a choice as to do what you would consider is best given the context.
Philosophers have branded this simple idea with a grand title: the principle of alternative possibilities, or PAP. The problem with PAP, however, is that it struggles to explain why having more options often fails to enhance freedom.
Why is it then that having more options to choose from doesn't necessarily make us more or less free?
Mariam Thalos presents us with a thesis about the concept of freedom as regards self-creation and self-conception that would give us another perspective to illuminate the concept of freedom.
And in this nuance of freedom, one might be considered free when s/he resists how society expects them to act, speak, or behave based on the labels that they have been categorized.
(Image credit: jill111/Pixabay)
Comments (3)
in reality, everyone and everything around you is part of a feedback loop
when you touch a hot stove, you get burned
when you walk out in public nude, society punishes you for it
places that claim they have "free speech" have advanced militaries and a complex system of laws and nuances just to defend its free speech
because nothing is free, the word free is a non-word - it doesn't exist
if you want to get through this life in one piece, the happiest, accept the natural slavery of the universe
help people around you - take care of yourself - and render unto ceasar what is ceasars