Freedom

This semester I have been taking a philosophy course with Dr. George Miller. This past week we had an interesting discussion about the nature of freedom that I though I would share in this weeks post.

We have a lot of debates these days about whether there is equality in the world and whether or not America is really free, etc. However, one argument which many of us do not consider is whether or not true freedom is even realistically possible.

Some would say, "Well I want to fly and I cant so I'm no free."

Others say, "I cannot go as fast as I want on the freeway, so therefore, I cannot truly be free."

Try as we might the class could not come up with an example of something that could do completely free of limitations. This led them to conclude that there was no way we could truly ever be free.

I have three responses to this.

First, if we cant ever truly be free, then why do we continue to strive after perfect freedom? What is the point if it is so impossible? I believe if we give up on freedom as a possibility than we must give up on striving to obtain it, which would make the two hundred plus years of American history entirely in vain.

Secondly,  I believe we need to make a distinction about freedom which my class was missing. We are free to choose, however we are not free from the consequences of our choices. We can choose to speed, however, we are not exempt from paying our speeding tickets. Its the same with every other choice we make each day. We choose to act, and through that we choose the consequences.

Thirdly, if we cannot truly be free, than how can we hold anyone accountable for anything they do. We cannot punish the evil nor reward the good because every decision they make is not their own, but one embedded into their natures as human beings. By this line of reasoning we wouldn't be able to put murderers in jail, nor reward incredible soldiers with medals of honor, because neither of those actions would be their own.

Just some interesting thoughts on the nature of freedom. Let me know what you think!