Human Freedom

[Edwardo Piet]

Human Freedom:

The absence of human oppression + the joy of human expression.

[abaris]

Human Freedom:

The absence of human oppression + the joy of human expression.

And who's lucky enough to have that?

[Edwardo Piet]

Some people have it partially.

I have it a lot.

Anyway, the question wasn't about who had it, it was about what it was.

[Doubting Thomas]

Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose.

[Edwardo Piet]

That's a horrible feeling.

I have both so much to lose and so much to gain. That feels much better

[Ignorant]

I think freedom is relative. Unless you're more specific with the question.  Most people who aren't on life support machines in a coma or something like that have some freedom. Even then they may have some limited freedom of thought.

I think human freedom is consists of being able to decide what to do either physically or decide what to think mentally.

Obviously if you believe everything is pre determined and there is no real freedom then the answer would be there is no human freedom. But based on the outlook that people can make choices I'd say that's what freedom is.

Thanks for your thoughts! If you think freedom is relative, to what is it relative?

No context?

It's two words. Yes, it's extremely vague.

Could mean a lot of different things. The first thing that comes to my mind is the freedom to explore the universe and not be glued to a rock. Which of course we don't have.

Thanks for the feedback! Yes, two words which, I presume, individually have meaning to you. How about this: What is it about a person (if anything) that can rightly be called free or freedom?

You've already started with "freedom to explore..." Is this another way of saying that human freedom is associated in some way with growing in knowledge of what surrounds us?

Human Freedom:

The absence of human oppression + the joy of human expression.

Thanks, Evie! There is quite a bit packed into this beautifully concise definition. If it is convenient for you, could you elaborate a bit?

[Edwardo Piet]

Well I think that there are two kinds of freedom, "negative freedom", and "positive freedom."

First off, by "negative" I don't mean "bad" I mean, freedom that comes from an absence of something that denies your freedom as in freedom from something. This is what I mean by freedom from oppression: I mean the freedom from being oppressed.

By "positive" I also don't mean "good", because I consider both kinds of freedom good. I mean freedom to do something as opposed to "negative freedom" as described above. This is all about self-expression which I consider self-explanatory. For a little more info on that I suggest learning about Abraham Maslow's concept of self-actualization.

[Ignorant]

Well I think that there are two kinds of freedom, "negative freedom", and "positive freedom."

First off, by "negative" I don't mean "bad" I mean, freedom that comes from an absence of something that denies your freedom as in freedom from something. This is what I mean by freedom from oppression: I mean the freedom from being oppressed.

By "positive" I also don't mean "good", because I consider both kinds of freedom good. I mean freedom to do something as opposed to "negative freedom" as described above. This is all about self-expression which I consider self-explanatory. For a little more info on that I suggest learning about Abraham Maslow's concept of self-actualization.

Thank you! I had a feeling this is what you meant, but I figured I'd let you put it in your own words. You might be surprised (maybe not) to learn how similar Maslow's self-actualization and hierarchy of needs are to Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas's voluntary action and order of goods.

Do you think self-expression lies on a spectrum? In other words, can we better or poorly express ourselves at different times? Do you think we can grow in our ability to truly express ourselves?

[Edwardo Piet]

Not sure if it falls on a spectrum with dividable categories, but it's certainly a continuum -- and as for your other question, yes we can grow in the ability to express ourselves.

It's also about being authentic or in other words "being yourself". This is quintessentially Existentialistic.

[paulpablo]

How freedom is relative.  I think it's relative because a slave can attain that would be known as freedom, to no longer have a master.  He's free in relation to his previous situation of being a slave.

But in relation to being constrained by physical reality he still has every day limits.  He's isn't free to fly to the moon because gravity holds him in place and his fragile human body wouldn't withstand the outside atmosphere.

It's defined as the power to think or act as one wants or to not be imprisoned or enslaved.