What Is Freedom?

Dr. Thomas Tipton

English composition 1

October 08, 12

The Meaning of Freedom

What is freedom? If you ask one hundred people this question, you’ll receive one hundred different answers; because every person understands this phenomenon in his or her own way. But according to Oxford English Dictionary the word freedom means, “the state or fact of being free from servitude, constraint, inhibition, etc.; liberty.” However, a simple, sufficient definition can present itself: freedom is the ability to choose, for any creature living life in any place in any time. But on the other hand to define freedom is more than a difficult task, but perhaps easier than one might imagine if not overanalyzed, so there is no greater truth to the statement, and no underlying meanings; freedom is simply the ability to choose.

Some people consider freedom to be a synonym of democracy. Others believe that it is an opportunity to act freely and embody ideas. There are also those who are sure that it is a possibility to do what they want regardless of the impact their actions will have on other people. A prisoner thinks that freedom is a life out of prison, where you have ability to choose what you want to do in your life. For me, freedom is an absence of pressure and enforcement from other people in my life. As we can see that the world is big and it has a population of approximately 7.045 billion then all this people think and understand differently so it is hard to find one common opinion among 7.045 billion people all around the world.

I’m definitely sure that everybody knows this statement: “my freedom ends where the freedom of another person starts”. Within the society the area of freedom available to an individuals is restricted. Freedom is something that can only be experienced to some extent; there is no such thing as absolute freedom. However, each varying life form has differing boundaries to which this freedom can conform. You cannot just do what you like and say, “I...