The Relative Roles of the Individuals Free Will within a Society - Essay Example

The Relative Roles of the Individual's Freewill Within a Society What is freewill This term can be loosely defined as the choice(s) made by anindividual, whether right or wrong, good or bad. It is uncertain if an individual's freewill or choices are influenced by society's dictates and/or governmental control. It is also unknown if freewill truly exists as a separate entity within an individual-perhaps freewill cannot survive without society and governmental statutes. Freewill is not a tangible entity but a concept that lies within the mind of an individual, and through use of the mind, the individual exercises this concept. A variety of authors have examined the concept of freewill throughout history. On Liberty by John Stuart Mill, 1984 by George Orwell, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and the graphic novel V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd all explored the relative roles of an individual's freewill within a society. These texts highlight different societies, all of which have come under control of the government, whether by peaceful or violent means. They also shed light on what happens to the freewill of individuals within each scenario. The relative roles of the individual's freewill within society begins with making it appear as if the individual is acting of their own freewill, while displaying socially appropriate and societal programmed responses. An individual's freewill could not exist without society's carefully orchestrated ministrations in allowing it to seem as if the individual is indeed making their own choices. Choices and actions made by said individual have to be engineered to look as if they were made by the individual. Through careful programming, society and government can achieve a desired result from the individuals. There are numerous ways of programming an individual within the society. These include but are not limited to: happiness, hate, brutality, genetics, drugs, love, fear, careful monitoring of said individuals to disallow privacy of any kind, and sex/eroticism. Through use of the aforementioned subjects, society and governments can exert control over the freewill of the individual, while maintaining the premise that they are not using these to manipulate individual actions and thought. Instead, those in control must convince the populace that what they do is for the good of all. All authors appear to agree that there are basic tenets for societal control. The individual must understand his/her status within the community. The underlying motif corresponds in all texts: an individual should be able to make their own choices without society or governmental intervention. If said person poses a danger or threat to others, then an authority must step in. If an individual is unable to make correct choices, i.e. the very young or aged, then it is also expected that someone will intervene on their behalf. Mills makes a point in stating that actions, though, should not be as free as opinions. He sets forth guidelines in lengthy detail discussing how each part of society is to function in harmony. All authors agree that the government is to become involved only when necessary, and to leave individuals alone to self-govern. If government decided to tamper with society and the individuals within it, a likely start would be where society and individuals begin: DNA and genetics. This is a horror that Mills in 1859 could hardly conceive of ever becoming a reality, due to minor knowledge of these subjects during his life. Huxley, however, provides in inside look at universal happiness via genetic engineering of society, at the moment of artificial conception. Through use of genetic methods, a form of super humans could evolve, eradicate disease, and achieve universal happiness through a caste system. Through happiness, a government could achieve control in influencing an individual's freewill through pleasantry. Physical pleasure via games or sexual gratification, the idea that "every one belongs to every one else" (Huxley, 42) is a pervasive theme. All authors appear to agree that sexual gratification is a powerful part of human life, and the disaster that could be caused through governmental meddling, either by encouragement or repression of this base human response. A government's use of hate, fear and brutality to exert control over an individual's freewill can be highly effective with devastating effects. Imagine a world where there is a constant war being waged on an enemy that, given only biased and specially selected information, the individual is programmed to hate. Hate is effective when an individual is inundated with information that leads the person to believe that no one is to be trusted. When a government monitors its own populace for evildoers, anyone becomes a suspect. Living under the constant vigilant eye of the government--"Big Brother is watching you!" (Orwell, 1)-leads to oppression and brutal control of freewill. All authors address the consequences of this type of brutality against freewill - that although the populace may withstand the abuse, an individual or society itself will rise against the oppressor. V in V for Vendetta was not truly a person, but a representation of the ideals each individual strives to achieve - freedom, identity, and responsibility. He took action against Norsefire, the controlling government of Britain, single-handedly undermining their control. The use of offspring to undermine adults is also an effective way to control freewill. Who better to start with than the young and impressionable Whether through genetics and "hypnopaedia" (Huxley, 25) or by controlled learning material and hateful propaganda, it is guaranteed that children will then misguidedly view adults, especially their parents, as the oppressors. The authors lend support to the idea of children, when properly nurtured and cared for, will offer loyalty as a product. By omitting parental urges, or the need for parental guidance, the term "motherhood" is lost. Institutions replace this aspect of an individual's life, affecting freewill, and the future generation's outcome/interaction within society. The act of watching ones children embrace the false values and perceptions has dual purpose: birth control and a guaranteed perpetuation of the false values in the future. What of the individuals that do not display the correct socially programmed responses in the society and begin to exert their own opinion/display freewill Within the scope of the 4 texts utilized, it is clear that the authors are simply saying to the reader that it is more than appropriate to utilize your own skills and mind. The governments that are portrayed in each text are extreme, and in each, there are individuals who refuse to live by the doctrines. Instead of receiving praise for their forward thinking, their ideas are squashed before they can proceed further. In 1984, Brave New World, and V for Vendetta, the governments utilize information control. All documents discussing any past events are destroyed or modified to praise current governmental control. All literature of religious and recreational nature is suppressed so that individuals have no concept of anything that is outside the scope of their indoctrination. Any new research that may lead the advancement of the human race in a positive way is repressed. In each text, characters come into contact with the elusive literature, and this sheds light on their current dilemma in questioning their world views. Three of the four texts reference Shakespeare, particularly Hamlet and Othello. In both Shakespeare pieces, the lead characters are both lead to insanity by their passions. Thus could be said of characters within the analyzed texts. Each person who feels alienated from their society is driven to a sort of insanity because of their passion for discovering the truth. They are lost in a sea of indoctrination, hanging on to a piece of driftwood of truth. As soon as they clutch that piece of metaphoric driftwood, it slips through their grasp. The characters are later explained the truth, and are not permitted to reenter society with this knowledge. In each case, the character is enlightened that happiness can be achieved only through governmental control, and unhappiness would be the result of leading an individual life with choices. It is clear that all authors feel information and literature help to provide structure and shape society with new ideas and innovations. The idea of solitude-an individual being alone-is frowned upon within the governments in these texts. The government employs voyeurism to keep an eye on the populace and listening devices to keep an ear on any possible misdeeds in planning. The populace and its individuals are constantly being monitored, for something akin to quality assurance purposes. The government is keeping tabs on their ministrations, always looking for more affective ways of manipulating the individuals out of their freewill. The love affair of Winston and Julia in 1984 was insurmountably difficult for the characters to maintain due to the limitation of privacy away from the telescreens. Orgy groups, elaborate films, drugs, and erotic games were a way to keep the populace entertained publicly in Brave New World. John on the other hand, who lived on a Reservation, upon entering the well manicured community, seeks escape and ultimately takes his own life. He found it was impossible to isolate himself from the community, as the community continuously invaded his privacy. V in V for Vendetta tapped into Norsefire's computer system, Fate, and used the voyeurism of the government against them. Mills does not express a view on solitude, other than it can be assumed that he would consider it within the realm of the individual's choice of freewill to seek. Slogans are used by the government as reminders to the populace of their station in life: servile and indebted to those who provide for them. In 1984 the slogan read "War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength." (2) In Brave New World, the slogan "Everybody's happy nowadays" (91) was sleep taught since decanted. V quotes Shakespeare and religious psalms while committing his crimes in the name of justice. Mill neither quotes nor uses slogans in his essay. Through the use of slogans, individuals lose their freewill by adopting the slogans as mistaken original thoughts. The slogans provide a sense of false liberty, as the characters repeat them by rote. Each time an individual repeats the indoctrinations, their freewill is slowly dying. Death is handled differently within the texts. V, unwilling to accept others points of view, undoubtedly kills civilians in his bombings in the name of liberty. He unleashes torture against his oppressors, and even brainwashes Evey regardless of her feelings to make her see the truth. By killing government figureheads, V is sending a wake up call to the populace. His killings are without remorse. In Brave New World, death is something altogether a different experience. The individuals within this society are taught from a very young age that death is not to be feared. After visiting hospitals of beautifully dying people, the children are fed treats to avert their attention and dispel any negativity towards death. Within 1984, when a person disappeared, it was assumed they were "vaporized" (30). Winston Smith makes reference to this as he views his coworkers, their habits, and his views on their loyalties to Big Brother. Death is greatly feared, as it is unknown what happens when an individual disappears. They are usually never seen again, so Winston assumes they are dead. Death is also synonymous with torture that Winston can only begin to imagine. In summation, the relative roles of the individual's freewill within a society is to make it appear as if the individual is acting of their own freewill while displaying socially appropriate societal programmed responses. All four texts lend credence that freewill is highly valuable to an individual, but cannot exist without society and governmental influence in one form or another. Depending upon what method of manipulation is utilized upon the liberties of a populace, the outcomes can be very different, either positive or negative. The freewill of an individual is always being negated by some form of influence, no matter what a person does to escape into solitude. All agree that complete governmental control is the worst form of impingement of individual rights and freewill, and if any scenario comes to pass, the future is frightening and bleak. Genetics and biotechnology could become a reality of future control. To exert influence from the conception of an individual as a zygote and manipulating DNA traits within the future person becomes a new form of governmental violation and brutality. War as a way to maintain peace within a society could very well come to pass, as current events begin to display signs of tighter governmental control and leanings toward this idea. Through technology the government has an all access pass into the lives of its underlings, with an eye and ear always taking appraisal of individual's thoughts and movements. Freewill is not a tangible entity and only exists as a concept within the mind of an individual. Works cited: Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1946. Mill, John Stuart. On Liberty. 2nd ed. Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1863. Moore, Alan and David Lloyd. V for Vendetta. New York: DC Comics Inc, 1989. Orwell, George. 1984. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc. 1949. Read More