Are You Free? A Conundrum

Not this kind of free


but really free in the sense of free will. Or are we just the products of all the combined sensory and mental causes of our actions which fully determine everything we do before we even actually make a conscious decision? If we aren't, does that affect personal responsibility?
 

Your kidding, of course! Everyday I see people everywhere a slave to technology. They walk around starring at their stupid ( I mean smart) phones all day long. No matter where you travel in this world, it's the same darn thing. People in slavery and they don't even know it.
 

Not this kind of free


but really free in the sense of free will. Or are we just the products of all the combined sensory and mental causes of our actions which fully determine everything we do before we even actually make a conscious decision? If we aren't, does that affect personal responsibility?
of course we're not free, not in the true sense of the word. We're totally enslaved behind rules that if we break we may find ourselves in an even less free environment..

I'm sure most of us would live our lives in some different ways, if we were not following the laws and rules of our government and police.. or even our religions...
 
Our freedom is relative to the environment we live in. As long as we have to pay bills, put gas in our cars, work, etc. we are not really free. In America, we have more freedom than people in other countries that are ruled by dictators. In retirement, when our pensions kick in, we have a little more freedom to make choices, but by that time, our bodies start giving up. By the way, is it important to be free?
 
We have to give up some freedoms in order to live in a civilized society and in a democracy. Every law on the books takes away some sort of freedom, and that's generally not a problem. It's when the laws become oppressive that they become problematic. The recent laws outlawing abortion are some good examples. Laws making it more difficult to vote are others. And then there's police brutality and police overstepping their authority that infringe on our freedoms.
 
"..[Y]ears ago I recognized my kinship with all living beings, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on Earth. I said then, and I say now, that while there is a lower class, I am in it, and while there is a criminal element, I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free..."
~~Eugene Debs, early 20th Century Socialist candidate for U.S. President
 

Are You Free? A Conundrum​


Wiki sez;

Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws", and with having rights and the civil liberties with which to exercise them without undue interference by the state. Frequently discussed kinds of political freedom include freedom of assembly, freedom of association, freedom of choice, and freedom of speech.

In one definition, something is "free" if it can change easily and is not constrained in its present state. (Physicists and chemists may use the word in this sense.[1]) Philosophy and religion sometimes associate freedom with free will, without undue or unjust constraints on that will, such as enslavement. It is an idea closely tied with the concept of negative liberty.

Charles Taylor resolves one of the issues[which?] that separate "positive" and "negative" theories of freedom, as these were initially distinguished in Isaiah Berlin's seminal 1958 lecture, "Two concepts of liberty". Taylor sees it as undeniable that there are two such families of conceptions of political freedom. Negative liberty is a concept that is often used in political philosophy. It is the idea that freedom means an ability to do what one wants, without external obstacles. This concept has been called too simplistic for discounting the importance of individual self-realization.[citation needed] Positive liberty is the ability to fulfill one's purposes.[2][3]

See Gary O' (as in O'hhhhhh....Yeaaaahhhhh!)

Also see Retirement....or Gary O' (same...same)

jumping boy 2.JPG


Now.....where wuz I......

Oh, yeah, here

jpeg sleep.jpg
 
of course we're not free, not in the true sense of the word. We're totally enslaved behind rules that if we break we may find ourselves in an even less free environment..

I'm sure most of us would live our lives in some different ways, if we were not following the laws and rules of our government and police.. or even our religions...
That's my definition too, although I would probably have described it in a more long winded way. Never did know when to shut up
 
In my world, I’m free.
I rarely see anyone where I live
I’m free to go outside and go for a walk when I want
I’m free to eat what I want, when I want
I’m free to do what I want with my day
I’m free to wake up and go to bed when I want
I’m free to express my feelings in my own house when I want and how I want

I’m not stuck on my phone as a slave to technology . It’s a choice to pick up my phone and engage with the rest of the world ….. or not; like the rest of my choices.

I’m a slave to nobody ā˜®ļø
 
The only person, who is totally free is some hermit, who lives alone in the woods, and has no contact with another human. For the rest of humanity, we are part of the herd. We receive protection and sustenance from the herd, in return for herd conformity. It is up to the individual to determine if being part of the herd is beneficial for him, and to either leave the herd, or try to alter the conformity.
 
of course we're not free, not in the true sense of the word. We're totally enslaved behind rules that if we break we may find ourselves in an even less free environment..

I'm sure most of us would live our lives in some different ways, if we were not following the laws and rules of our government and police.. or even our religions...
Especially here in Canada where the politically correct seem to be everywhere. Guess we all better "toll the line or else!!!!!"
 
The only person, who is totally free is some hermit, who lives alone in the woods, and has no contact with another human. For the rest of humanity, we are part of the herd. We receive protection and sustenance from the herd, in return for herd conformity. It is up to the individual to determine if being part of the herd is beneficial for him, and to either leave the herd, or try to alter the conformity.
I prefer the word society to herd, but yes, all societies live within the restrictions of certain laws and face consequences if they don't.

The freedom of any society is relative to the freedoms and restrictions of another.
 
Especially here in Canada where the politically correct seem to be everywhere. Guess we all better "toll the line or else!!!!!"
Same here.. toe the line or you're in for the high jump...

..2 small examples just today... 6 police ''raided'' a pub today, because someone reported the Landlady's Golliwog doll collection as racist... and they took the dolls away...

69591151-11949421-image-m-5_1680873580790.jpg


Video here...

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...s-raid-Essex-pub-seize-15-golliwog-dolls.html


... and .. this...
Nike today doubled down on using a transgender influencer to promote its female clothes, telling customers calling for a boycott to 'be kind and inclusive'.

The firm's tone-deaf response came amid women's concerns over Dylan Mulvaney, who identifies as female but has not had reassignment surgery.

Mulvaney - who uses the pronouns she or they - was seen in paid social media content dancing in a Nike sports bra and leggings.

It sparked furious calls for a boycott, with Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies leading calls and customers deluging the company with complaints.

Today Nike issued its first response online, declaring it would delete comments it did not judge to be in a spirit of diversity or inclusivity.


https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...s-kind-inclusive-Dylan-Mulvaney-backlash.html

Broken Britain... that's on top of all the rail strikes, the airport strikes, the oil protesters.. the Recession.. the huge increase in the cost of living...
 
I don’t think anyone is really free
We re all out for survival
We don’t have the choice of living
And we all have to get on with our day whether we like it or not !!!
I agree with Charry. No-one who lives in a social group is ever free to do whatever they want, when they want. It has always been that all the way back to the Stone Ages.

Even so, we have free will that we can exercise by accepting some limitations and refusing to submit to others. Either way, there will be consequences; some pleasant, others quite the opposite.

Only a hermit is ever totally free but most of us don't want that lifestyle.
 


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