Thought Catalog: On Freedom

Of all the virtues of this world, one that has always been curtailed is freedom. In fact, freedom is almost impossible to achieve simply because we live in a world where order is needed – where we are bound by rules and laws. It is unarguably correct to assert that there is no order if by all means every individual is given the absolute free will – the luxury of doing whatever he wishes to do. And so we are posed with the questions: How can we value freedom if we are unable to experience it in its purest sense? Why do we continue to aspire for freedom yet take compromises to ensure societal order? What does it really mean to have freedom in this modern world?

This exposition on freedom is anchored on extrapolating the value of freedom and the reality that there is no absolute freedom, that in fact we are bound not only by our free will but by the rules of nature and of our society.

Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty

Perhaps one of the strongest philosophical maxims about freedom is the quote “Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty.” The proverbial implications of this statement make you wonder if it is possible to achieve absolute freedom. One can say that in order to achieve absolute freedom, you must have total control of what belongs to you. You need to carefully and religiously guard your properties, your personal space, the things that you considered part of your identity. If any of these gets violated or taken away from you, then your freedom had been curtailed.

Nevertheless, this curtailment of personal freedom is actually essential to ensure the coequal existence of the freedom of other people. So in a sense, your freedom curtails the freedom of other people whereas other people’s freedom can curtail yours. This duality is a little problematic when we want to establish absolute freedom, and so we are left with the notion that we must be in constant guard of our freedom lest we want the freedom of others to prevail over our own freedom.

There is no absolute freedom

The philosophical debate on freedom is exemplified in what we call as absolute freedom. The quintessential question commonly posed in these discussions is to what extent can the freedom of a person be - and if it is limitless and boundless what stops us from achieving such absolute freedom. Sadly, despite any effort, all these would still end up with an impasse for there is no such thing as absolute freedom. Nonetheless, it is absolute freedom that we must seek. It is just quite confusing because why seek something that is nonexistent? For me, the reason why we have to seek absolute freedom is simple. That is that as humans we must satiate our eternal desire to be at the apex of our existence. And this never-ending desire while wicked is essential to our very existence.

At the end of the day, it is obvious that freedom is something that can only be achieved to a certain point but not in its purest form. That is to say that freedom is not absolute but it is resolute and it should and must always be resolute. It should always be a goal that all of us must seek. It should always remain a core value of our society and our existence.