The Concept of Freedom - Essay Example

The Concept of Freedom I often hear people say that freedom is the fundamental right of a human being. Every individual is born free, and thus it is his right to enjoy the life the way he wants. This is what I do believe in. To me, and as every dictionary would state, freedom means living one’s life the way one wants without encountering any obstacles and others’ resistance toward the achievement of one’s goals, objectives, and desires. Who on earth would not want to achieve his ambitions without having to face any hurdle?

I believe that every single being on this planet would wish to lead a life that has been designed by him and him alone. In this paper, I will describe my concept of freedom and why I feel that I am free. I will also explain what idea of freedom people have in their minds and how the meaning of freedom has changed over the years. Some people believe that freedom is something that Nature has not granted man with. They affirm that life is a sequence of predetermined events that come to us and go leaving signs of happiness or scars of sorrow on our hearts.

For them, it is the Nature who has already decided who we are, which race we belong to, what we shall earn, what we shall spend, and where we shall live our lives. This concept is also a part of many religions where people believe that every good and bad comes from God and we are just made to bear that good or bad. Even Shakespeare said that this life is a stage and the human beings are only the actors who have to play their part of the play and pass on. The strings are in God’s hands. To some extent, I also believe in this thing that God has decided for us many things, just as Leiter (2010) states, “Religious beliefs involve, explicitly or implicitly, a metaphysics of ultimate reality.

” But on the other hand, he has also left many things in our hands too. If he has decided for us who our parents are going to be, what color we shall be, what race we shall belong, what language we shall speak, what religion we shall follow, what relations we shall make, then he also told us what is right and what is wrong and then left us free to choose whichever path we wanted to choose. God showed me the right way and then set me free by providing me with equipment to help myself follow that path.

He told me the wrong path and then set me free by providing me the resources which I may avail to follow the bad path. Now, it is up to me to choose the right way or the bad one. Then, who says that I am not free? Of course, I am free. I am free to make my own choices. I am free to lead a life according to my desires. I am free to avail the luxuries of life and sooth and comfort myself by the bounties of the Lord and the beauties of the world. The only thing I have to keep in my mind is the consequences of my choice of actions.

According to vanHeeas (2010, p.688), “To ascertain how well a person is doing we, therefore, cannot focus only on what she is doing; we should also consider what she could be doing.” That is, we can determine a person’s well-being not by determining his opportunity set or choice options only, but be analyzing what he would be doing if he was free to make any choice about any issue. Thus, freedom of choice is what determines how well a person is doing in his life. One who has been deprived of his freedom of choice is someone who cannot be ranked as a person who is bringing out his best in the things he is doing.

The concept of freedom, may it be of religion, speech, or choice, has changed very much over the years. Now the people feel free to make their own choices in politics, residence, education, jobs, interests, votes, and so on. Freedom of speech has enabled media to cover each and every aspect of life. Freedom of religion has freed humans from abiding by one religion that their forefathers have been following. Hence, I think that today’s society offers much more freedom to us than previous societies and history has made us freer regarding our choices.

This is my concept of freedom, and I am proud to say, “I am free and enjoy being free.” References Leiter, B. (2010). Foundations of Religious Liberty: Toleration or Respect? The San Diego Law Review, 47(4), 935. Retrieved February 1, 2011, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 2230785221). vanHees, M. (2010). The specific value of freedom. Social Choice and Welfare, 35(4), 687-703. Retrieved February 1, 2011, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 2144885411).