Finding Freedom: What it is and what it’s not Essay

Abstract Human freedom could very well be the most controversial topic in our society. To some, human freedom is the freedom to be educated, to work and provide financially for yourself and your family. The freedom to drive a motor vehicle. To vote for the president you truly believe in. To move about freely from one city, state, country or continent to another. In this report, I will investigate the perceived legitimacy of these freedoms, amongst others, and expose the variations in the definition of this word â€Å"freedom.† Finding freedom Many aspects of life come to mind when one is brought the question, â€Å"are you free?† The average person would say yes, they are. But, what does free actually mean? Most would say the ability to choose from any option dictating their personal future. But, there is a contingency to every decision we make and every freedom or option we have. We all want to make our own choices and decide which direction we want our life to go in, but that comes with a price. That price could very likely be one that we may not be willing to pay. Is that actually freedom? In order to take advantage of the freedom to drive an automobile, you must first pass a written test. Following the written test, you are required to pass a road test and pay the fees to become a licensed driver. Not to mention that you must have current insurance to even drive a vehicle after you’ve done all these things. With that said, you have the freedom to operate a motor vehicle, but you don’t have the fre edom to do so without first successfully completing the aforementioned steps. The United States boasts the fact that all of its citizens have the freedom to travel freely, both within and outside of its borders. Of course there is a contingency. They must know where you are going and for how long as well as other information one probably wouldn’t offer it that were not required to exercise their â€Å"freedom.† Describing human freedom is problematic at best as most see simply as the ability to do what you want. Jerry A. Coyne (2012) Stated that while people do have the ability to do what they want, what they want is predetermined by laws just like the laws of physics. In that sense, our so-called freedom is already within certain boundaries. Not realizing this, it’s even harder to understand that we already exercise our freedom within boundaries of the natural boundaries that have already existed. Finding freedom The idea of human freedom fits into the field of sociology though the fact that ones personal idea of being free directly results in the decisions that person makes. The collective decisions of a society shape a society. The degree of freedom one feels varies from person to person, but however free they feel actually indirectly shapes their society. Understanding this concept can grant invaluable insight on the dynamics of a society and their patterns of behavior. James M. Buchanan (1975) suggested that social stability requires an agreement on and enforcement of a structure of individual rights, meaning that in a society there is a general consensus that they all have the freedom to act in tolerable ways and make certain decisions. This also promotes the idea that there are still boundaries to the freedom we perceive and fight to keep. It’s fairly obvious at this point that freedom is not exactly what most would think it is and that the term is often confused with free will. John Locke (1997) believed that free will was the ability to override instinct. For instance, if one is hungry and they chooses not to eat to do something else, they have exercised their free will. But with true freedom, one would be able to choose not to eat at all. We know that we have freedom of speech and press and all of the other amendment, but they were given to us. True freedom has no proposal and enactment date. You either have it or you don’t. The fact is that the conundrum called freedom is actually not freedom at all. In James M. Buchanan’s (1975) study of commonality and non-economic interaction, he stated that freedom as a norm or rule for social intercourse has little or no meaning until or unless individuals are first identified in terms of acknowledged limits of behavior. With that said, if we all carried on with no interaction and did what ever we wanted to, that would be as close as we could ever get to freedom. Within a society, culture or family setting, there will always be a behavioral boundary. While we have the free will to make decisions within those boundaries, we do not have the freedom to make our own boundaries as long as we are a part of a society. Finding freedom Further research into the concept of human freedom, I believe, would offer a great deal of value to the field of sociology. One’s own sense of freedom plays a huge part in their day to day actions and what path they choose in their own life. Sociology, by definition, is the study of the development, structure and functioning of human society. The development of society is based on decisions made by those who lead the way of development and the citizens who decided elect them based on their own sense and concept of freedom. It is my understanding that the very foundation of a society is the peoples’ sense of freedom, collectively, and they make choices based on that sense of freedom. This could give insight into the research of crime, poverty and suicide rates as well as chronic depression and people who are withdrawn from society. Finding Freedom Discussion Though it may not be easy to grasp immediately, that our sense of freedom is what drives us, at this point it would be hard to object. Dr. Mark Cooray (1997) explained freedom is the liberty of the individual coupled with concern by the liberated individual for the liberties of others. In other words what we call freedom is merely a box that we are allowed to move about freely within. Only because our actions affect others and their sense of freedom do we have to operate within the confines of freedom. That leads me to believe that true freedom can only be achieved by on outside of a society or one happens to be an exception to the rule. It has been found that no one can truly be free without encroaching the freedom of another within their society. According the John Locke (1997) freedom is merely a better word for free will, when thought of literally, as there is no tangible concept of actually freedom. With that said, I can still conclude that people still do not feel as free as they actually are although still confined to the boundaries of freedom. This inference, I believe, could help with the research of several of societies ailments and perhaps empower some of those who may feel helpless and resort to deviant means. Finding Freedom References James M. Buchanan (1975). The Paradox of â€Å"Being Governed† – James M. Buchanan, The Collected Works of James M. Buchanan, vol. 7 (The Limits of Liberty: Between Anarchy and Leviathan) Jerry A. Coyne (2012). Why you really don’t have free will. USA Today John Locke (1997). What is human freedom?