Freedom is sometimes defined as the capacity to choose, but it is not so easy in philosophy. There are two different kinds of freedom, positive freedom and negative freedom in philosophy. Positive freedom demands that one’s actions express who and what they want the owner of that action. This simplifies the decision-making process according to your desires and needs.
Negative independence takes the view that independence reflects the right to determine other than that which you have taken. Therefore, though you choose Door Three, you have the choice of opening Door One or Door Two, if you so wished. All these philosophies can be said to have two distinct degrees of freedom, but they questioned the controversy between free will and determinism.
Jean-Paul Sartre was a French philosopher who is best known for his work in existentialism. In his famous work, Being and Nothingness, Sartre examines the nature of freedom and choice. His famous quote, “man is condemned to be free,” suggests that humans are burdened with the responsibility of making choices. This may seem like a … Read more
Ayer, A.J. “Freedom and Necessity” is a philosophical work that explores the concepts of free will and determinism. Ayer argues that although we may feel that we have free will, our actions are actually determined by causal factors beyond our control. He uses the example of a person who intends to shoot a target but … Read more
The book The Grapes of Wrath focuses on a particular section of America called the “Dust Bowl” during the early nineteen thirties. During this time, when tenant farming was a way of life for so many Oklahomans, there came a drought which drastically cut down production of crops and forced the bank to evict the … Read more
The freedom to read is essential to the democratic way of life. But today, that freedom is under attack. Private groups and public authorities everywhere are working to remove both books and periodicals from sale, to exclude certain books from public schools, to censor and silence magazines and newspapers, and to limit “controversial” books and … Read more
I object to the gradual loss of the freedoms promised in the Constitution. This last outrage, the loss of part of our Freedom of speech and assembly, contained within the telecomm act of 96 is just another step along the road to complete police state takeover. We are being treated like recalcitrant teenagers by those … Read more
