European Union Forums

[Terry]

Many talk about freedom - sociologist, psychologists, philosophers etc. I guess everybody has at least once meditated on the limits of the "allowable" and on the real possibilities of a free person.

So does an absolute freedom exist? How it should be manifested from your point of view? What does a man needs in order to feel himself absolutely free? Is the freedom necessary as a whole?...

[Steven]

freedom is usually associated with the word "democracy"

[sasha]

I have little different perception of freedom. I have seen people that became slaves of their own freedom. The real freedom people should cherish are: freedom to love(in general sence), freedom to give, and freedom to seek for the truth.

Other freedoms lead to some kind of slavery. Often this slavery is life in slavery under own passions.

[Terry]

what do you mean by slavery, can you give a concrete example?

[sasha]

Well there are some people who are insisting on the freadom to smoke cigarets even if there are people that do not want to bread in the smoke. Those are slaves of their perception of freedom. They think that there must be freedom to choose to smoke, but they are in fact slaves to their habit. They even want others to became such slaves.

Some people insist on freedom to express themselves, and we are all just slaves of that freedom in some cases. There are whole subculture of porn, which is exibitionists materialisation of freedom to express themselves.

Some people think that freedom of sexual behaviour is freedom of choice, but there are a lot of cases when people bacame slaves of their sexual behaviour. Pedophiles, SM, and other disorders, maybe even homosexualism in many cases, but in some cases it may be organic need.

Anyway, there are a lot of examples and anibody can see it if use critical philosophical attitude. Any "freedom" apart of those I mentioned before lead to mental slavery.

I do not say that these "freedoms" are bad, but insisting on them leads people to sure slavery.

[M.Helen]

freedom is not democracy at all. Democracy can't offer you freedom inside your soul. People feel free when they are happy

[clearman]

People feel free when they are drunk, in love or jobless.....

[Faw_Peter]

freedom is a magic word. Actually nobody in this world is free. We all depend on each other and cosequently have to live in peace

[Benn]

I feel totally free when I'm drunk
For me freedom means more than money, so if I find a job which will offer me only little freedom, I will retire.

[Faw_Peter]

Freedom: A road-trip without a map. You can take as many turns as you want - no rules, no concerns, no problems!

[Laurentine]

So does an absolute freedom exist? How it should be manifested from your point of view? What does a man need in order to feel himself absolutely free? Is the freedom necessary as a whole?...

Absolute freedom does not exist in our society. From my point of view the freedom is the possibility to develop and think freely without being compelled to a certain ideology, the possibility to speak and be heard, to choose your profession yourself, and many many other things...

[Riser]

total freedom has not been nor will be! these are only words! a man can not be totally free because it my whole life depends on someone or someone depends on you! man does not need freedom! Man needs it is forbidden, of what he hasn't!

[Kusnetsov]

A possible definition of "freedom": an opportunity of a man to realise his/her aspiration towards criative activity.

[Peach]

A possible definition of "freedom": an opportunity of a man to realise his/her aspiration towards criative activity.

and the definition that you wrote it is in consonance with what freedom means to you?

[Kusnetsov]

and the definition that you wrote it is in consonance with what freedom means to you?

'tis a possible definition of freedom. And as this definition is given by me so yes, it's in consonance with what freedom means to me. Still to give definitions to this phenomenon is a kind of absurd for usually people don't know what they want or every one has its own point of view to what he means upon "freedom".

[Terry]

'tis a possible definition of freedom. And as this definition is given by me so yes, it's in consonance with what freedom means to me. Still to give definitions to this phenomenon is a kind of absurd for usually people don't know what they want or every one has its own point of view to what he means upon "freedom".

You might be right. Each understand what freedom means and enjoy it in his way! Many confuse freedom with independence! which is wrong.The freedom includes the independence but while saying you're independent it dosen't mean you have the freedom.

[hellodear]

oh, a difficult question.. i think freedom is the stil of life that you need, is the round of friends that you need, it is the list of activities that are intresting for you/
and it is a permanently work above your own self to make it more free from the convenionalities ..
From this point of view we all can be free

[FreeThinker]

When my conscience says what I want to do is right, then I should have the chance to do it. That's freedom for me.

[hellodear]

"Freedom means responsability. That is why a lot of people are afraid of it". Bernard Show

[Kusnetsov]

"Freedom means responsability. That is why a lot of people are afraid of it". Bernard Show

Right.

[Riser]

"Freedom means responsability. That is why a lot of people are afraid of it". Bernard Show

yes we are scared until after the first step ... but no longer want a way back. First time is always the most painful

[Laurentine]

Freedom is very important for everybody. It is when you can do everything you want and go whenever you want. But everyone should know the measure because too much freedom, can damage a persons personal life, because no any girl or boy would love that its girlfriend or boyfriend to go somewhere he or she wants.

[Lorry]

Freedom is not the license to do whatever you desire. It is the opportunity to become who you are. Freedom comes with corresponding responsibilities. All of us ignore one of the most important responsibilities demanded by freedom - the responsibility to tell the truth (as best we can) about ourselves and our condition; to be radically and humbly honest.

[Martin]

Freedom means independence – the ability to take care of one's self. If you can travel by yourself, that's part of independence. If you can fold your own clothes, that is part of independence. And if you can cook, and so on and so forth, that's also part of independence.