DAY 25 OF 31 OF THE JULY THINK THEN RETHINK WRITING CHALLENGE
Is True and Complete Freedom Possible?
A philosophical look at the idea of freedom
Is true and complete freedom possible?
Explain your answer. But that question is all you get as a guide. That… and it is based on freedom as viewed philosophically. (*Note, this question was written in May and I considered changing it after I saw Keeley had a similar prompt in June… but decided to keep it because they are different — you need to find the difference to answer this one).
What kind of freedom are we talking about? Is it the freedom of speech and the freedom of expression? Well, that depends on where you live in the world and how much that freedom would cost you if you tested it. How about freedom of religion? That’s also seriously limited in many places, especially authoritarian and theocratic societies. You have to be one religion or else face the consequences of going against that.
Then there’s the question of autonomy over your own body. Some societies give you less freedom over that. In places where homosexuality is illegal for example, some punishments for taking those liberties and that freedom could also cost you your life.
However, you are free most of the time to reframe your thinking. You’re free to have your own personal thoughts. You’re free to follow or not follow societal order and rules. How much freedom we are actually allowed, again, as I said, depends on where we live.
You can say that one can be free to an extent so since we can always place limits on how free one is, then we’d have to jump to the logical conclusion that one cannot be truly and completely free. What is that even supposed to mean really? Would we ever want that?
To be free from societal limitations, to be free in the sense that you answer to no one and are accountable to no one else. It sounds like a nice setup, maybe, for a while, then you suddenly feel guilty because your freedom might’ve actually cost you other things in your life.
I guess, what I’m saying is, despite my belief that freedom cannot be true and absolute, would I ever really want that? I definitely enjoy the level of freedom that I’m at to this point. I freed myself from paying rent to a landlord every month and have the freedom to travel to where I want to when I can.
That is definitely a personal freedom that I don’t take for granted. I think as humans, we all have a certain level of freedom that we should all be entitled to, to allow us to live a full life. If any of those freedoms are infringed upon, that definitely makes life less fulfilling.
I think that we all should be up in arms at the governments that make this impossible. One more thought is that despite the complex geopolitical implications, the United States should further distance itself from places in the world that don’t give a decent level of freedom to their citizens.
Challenge Community Group: Autistic Widower (“AJ”), Brett Jenae Tomlin, Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles, Trisha Faye, Karen Schwartz, NancyO, Katie Michaelson, Bernie Pullen, Michelle Jimerson Morris, Amy Frances, Julia A. Keirns, Pamela Oglesby, Harry Hogg, Tina, Pat Romito LaPointe, Brandon Ellrich, Misty Rae, Karen Hoffman, Susie Winfield, Vincent Pisano, Marlene Samuels, Ray Day, Randy Pulley, Lu Skerdoo, Pluto Wolnosci, Paula Shablo, Bruce Coulter, Ellen Baker, Leigh-Anne Dennison, Jennifer Marla Pike, Carmen Ballesteros, Patricia Timmermans, Jerry Dwyer, Teisha LeShea, and Ruby Noir 😈.
