Dear friends,
I always stumble over the notion of freedom. Many people think freedom is something like:
- wear what you want
- smoke anywhere
- drive as fast as you can
- keep your driver’s licence indefinitely
In other words, do as you please, with no restrictions. This is a very superficial but widespread notion of freedom.
In Wikipedia I find the following definition of freedom
with the following
I want to supplement this through the brief definition of my mentor and friend Rupert Lay: “People are free when they are willing and able to take their lives into their own hands”
In a representative survey of students at the Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt, in the 80’s this understanding of freedom was chosen by a large majority. I would be happy to start a “TED” in the network to learn today’s view on this subject. I shall be grateful for feedback!
Incidentally, I remember a Janis Joplin song. There is a line saying:
“Freedom is just another word for nothing left to loose.”
(From “Me and Bobby McGee”)
And maybe freedom is just another word for wisdom.
RMD
P.S.
I have written this post because the concept of “freedom” plays a central role in many current issues within social, political, ethical and moral contexts.
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