Sometime, about 8 months ago I think, glenn1 or glen posted a thread here asking what freedom was. I said I would post a reply as soon as I got my thoughts together on what I thought freedom was and now that I think I have some understanding, and having not found the original thread, I resolved to make a new one posting my thoughts and opening up the discussion for new consideration and deliberation with the good people here on ATOT.
And so, freedom (yes, this is long):
Is freedom a fundamental right, a sort of unalienable thing one is born with that cannot be taken away and is guaranteed by the state or some law, inherent or created? Is in rather a sort of existential knowledge that one is and that one chooses to live and by that choice is utterly and completely free from all restrictions, except the ensuing consequences? Is freedom merely an illusion created by society? Perhaps it is some of both or maybe freedom is the state where everything is allowed, where our wildest passions and desires are fulfilled. Yet again, perhaps true freedom is simply doing what one sees fit insofar as these actions do not cause harm to a third party.
Having pondered questions like these, I think my answer is nothing really of the sort. First of all, a sort of arbitrariness stemming from the self, a subjective living in a moment and acting from that motivation is not freedom. Experiencing the now and being free from what we perceive to be restrictions and encumbrances and being outside of time is not really being free. Why? It is not because we cause harm to others because harm is such a relative thing. Notions of objective morality are still touchy, despite attempts by many philosophers to define morality as an absolute. It is not because we harm ourselves or because we choose to live. These are sorts of self-preservation prerequisites. It is not really because we are guarded by a state in which we know we are free to be without fear in pursuing happiness. Freedom, true and genuine freedom, is the freedom that withstands stress and influences. It is a freedom that may harm and may not harm, but never does wrong. True freedom is not an extreme attachment to passions or desires or acting on those desires to obtain happiness. Neither is it nothingness or detachment wherein the agent knows nothing and therefore is in a state of emptiness. This is not free. It may be some sort of profound religious of philosophical state of being but alas, I fear a simple man like myself cannot fathom these esoteric truths that are open to the adept and initiated.
True freedom is obedience. However, it is not obedience to any self. It is not obedience to an ?other?. It is obedience to what is and must be. We humans live in relation to our environments. We use it for food and it also uses us for food. We are interdependent on it and weave complex webs and networks of relationships, some of which we destroy and not rebuilt and some of which we continue building without taking the time to maintain or strengthen. True freedom is maintaining a balance, placing priorities on these webs and keeping some strong, some week, and some in transition, since the world is in flux. True freedom then is obedience to this recognized order and validity. It is also obeying ourselves, but not our regular selves- our true selves.
The true self is an interesting idea. It reeks of the old homunculus residing in he depths of our minds, waiting to be liberated by science. That is not what I mean. The true self is a state of experiencing and perceiving the world. It is a state of being and awareness. The true self is what we get to once we realize that what we?ve been told are lies, and what we think is a lie, and what we will continue to think is yet another lie. The true self is what we get to once we relive the pain and agony and heal the wounds that are present in our hearts and selves. The true self is the one that wants to maintain that web of connections in good order but objectification and dualism still makes us reject that in order to gain some sort of certainty by working in our own defined system, and not the system in which we are born. The true self is what we get to when we realize that nihilism or a sort of desperate existential cry will result in the answer of an indifferent universe. When we experience that, we know what is means to be redeemed and to know what it is to live. It?s really love.
Freedom then is obedience to implicit order, even though it appears as if its chaos. Freedom, real freedom, is knowing what things are and evaluating them properly, seeing through the eye of the heart. That is freedom. Freedom will not result in a wrong; it does not err since it knows everything is meaningless. Freedom will not result in disappointment and frustration at a lack of conquest or because of unattainment. Real freedom is not some sort of misogynistic withdrawal from others and escapes into nature or into some halcyon state of pulchritude. Real freedom is still submission to what is and must be. It is not a rationalization of one?s state or a systematization of outside reality by a system or a dualistic system that works mostly on polarity. Real freedom is not doing something as long as one accepts responsibility for the outcomes or simply doing something based on the merits of the means. It is not a decided course of action but a state, an attitude, and an approach. A worldview. Through living by this sort of freedom, we are free. We are ourselves and not neurotic. We do not with to transcend since we do not yearn for some sort of security in another. We love and maintain ties with the world around us, which make up our efforts and place goals and priorities in our actions.
Real freedom is that. It is knowing this, acting by it, and holding it as a value and belief knowing that those beliefs are really meaningless since to be free is to be outside of meaning and values.
I tried to organize that so it flows. I think it?s a worthwhile read, even with the concentrations of thought-provoking threads appearing here on ATOT lately.
Cheers ! : )
And so, freedom (yes, this is long):
Is freedom a fundamental right, a sort of unalienable thing one is born with that cannot be taken away and is guaranteed by the state or some law, inherent or created? Is in rather a sort of existential knowledge that one is and that one chooses to live and by that choice is utterly and completely free from all restrictions, except the ensuing consequences? Is freedom merely an illusion created by society? Perhaps it is some of both or maybe freedom is the state where everything is allowed, where our wildest passions and desires are fulfilled. Yet again, perhaps true freedom is simply doing what one sees fit insofar as these actions do not cause harm to a third party.
Having pondered questions like these, I think my answer is nothing really of the sort. First of all, a sort of arbitrariness stemming from the self, a subjective living in a moment and acting from that motivation is not freedom. Experiencing the now and being free from what we perceive to be restrictions and encumbrances and being outside of time is not really being free. Why? It is not because we cause harm to others because harm is such a relative thing. Notions of objective morality are still touchy, despite attempts by many philosophers to define morality as an absolute. It is not because we harm ourselves or because we choose to live. These are sorts of self-preservation prerequisites. It is not really because we are guarded by a state in which we know we are free to be without fear in pursuing happiness. Freedom, true and genuine freedom, is the freedom that withstands stress and influences. It is a freedom that may harm and may not harm, but never does wrong. True freedom is not an extreme attachment to passions or desires or acting on those desires to obtain happiness. Neither is it nothingness or detachment wherein the agent knows nothing and therefore is in a state of emptiness. This is not free. It may be some sort of profound religious of philosophical state of being but alas, I fear a simple man like myself cannot fathom these esoteric truths that are open to the adept and initiated.
True freedom is obedience. However, it is not obedience to any self. It is not obedience to an ?other?. It is obedience to what is and must be. We humans live in relation to our environments. We use it for food and it also uses us for food. We are interdependent on it and weave complex webs and networks of relationships, some of which we destroy and not rebuilt and some of which we continue building without taking the time to maintain or strengthen. True freedom is maintaining a balance, placing priorities on these webs and keeping some strong, some week, and some in transition, since the world is in flux. True freedom then is obedience to this recognized order and validity. It is also obeying ourselves, but not our regular selves- our true selves.
The true self is an interesting idea. It reeks of the old homunculus residing in he depths of our minds, waiting to be liberated by science. That is not what I mean. The true self is a state of experiencing and perceiving the world. It is a state of being and awareness. The true self is what we get to once we realize that what we?ve been told are lies, and what we think is a lie, and what we will continue to think is yet another lie. The true self is what we get to once we relive the pain and agony and heal the wounds that are present in our hearts and selves. The true self is the one that wants to maintain that web of connections in good order but objectification and dualism still makes us reject that in order to gain some sort of certainty by working in our own defined system, and not the system in which we are born. The true self is what we get to when we realize that nihilism or a sort of desperate existential cry will result in the answer of an indifferent universe. When we experience that, we know what is means to be redeemed and to know what it is to live. It?s really love.
Freedom then is obedience to implicit order, even though it appears as if its chaos. Freedom, real freedom, is knowing what things are and evaluating them properly, seeing through the eye of the heart. That is freedom. Freedom will not result in a wrong; it does not err since it knows everything is meaningless. Freedom will not result in disappointment and frustration at a lack of conquest or because of unattainment. Real freedom is not some sort of misogynistic withdrawal from others and escapes into nature or into some halcyon state of pulchritude. Real freedom is still submission to what is and must be. It is not a rationalization of one?s state or a systematization of outside reality by a system or a dualistic system that works mostly on polarity. Real freedom is not doing something as long as one accepts responsibility for the outcomes or simply doing something based on the merits of the means. It is not a decided course of action but a state, an attitude, and an approach. A worldview. Through living by this sort of freedom, we are free. We are ourselves and not neurotic. We do not with to transcend since we do not yearn for some sort of security in another. We love and maintain ties with the world around us, which make up our efforts and place goals and priorities in our actions.
Real freedom is that. It is knowing this, acting by it, and holding it as a value and belief knowing that those beliefs are really meaningless since to be free is to be outside of meaning and values.
I tried to organize that so it flows. I think it?s a worthwhile read, even with the concentrations of thought-provoking threads appearing here on ATOT lately.
Cheers ! : )
Facebook
Twitter