Freedom Philosophy Essay Examples & Topics

Freedom Philosophy Essay Examples & Topics

What is freedom in philosophy? Is freedom real? The phenomena of freedom and free will have been discussed in philosophy for centuries. These concepts are not easily defined.

Freedom can mean the capacity to do something or be someone without restraints or limitations. It can also refer to independence from the influence of others. There are several types of human freedom: physical, political, natural, social, and many more.

Free will is defined as the ability to make an independent choice.

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The problem of freedom has a long-standing history with multitudes of differing viewpoints. If you are writing a freedom philosophy essay, you have a long road ahead of you. Our experts have described some thinkers so that you know where to start your research. See their conflicting takes on freedom and responsibility explored on the page. Also, we have come up with exciting topics for what is freedom philosophy essay or research paper.

Besides, you will find essay samples written by other students. Reading them can get you inspired or help you develop your own paper.

What Is Freedom in Philosophy? The Most Prominent Thinkers

Throughout humankind’s history, many had something to say about the concept of freedom. Philosophers have debated and continue to argue with one another over this complicated subject. Over here, we have looked at some of the points of view held by the most prominent thinkers. They will help you begin thinking about “what is freedom in philosophy” essays.

  • René Descartes

In his philosophical theories, René Descartes insisted that freedom comes from the human mind. He divided the world into the material and the ideal world of thoughts. Descartes believed that our ideas were completely free and could influence the material world.

  • Immanuel Kant

Immanuel Kant argued that a person could not be genuinely free while their wants and wishes govern them. He came up with the concept of autonomy, believing that the ideal way to live is through self-control. Once a human person stops being a slave to their desire, only then will they achieve true freedom.

  • Arthur Schopenhauer

Drawing inspiration from Plato, Arthur Schopenhauer wrote essays on the questions of ethics and human freedom. He claimed that there was absolutely no such thing as free will and that people could not possess it. Schopenhauer insisted that a person could only react in response to external stimuli.

  • Rudolf Steiner

Rudolph Steiner discussed what human freedom means in his work titled The Philosophy of Freedom. He argued that freedom lies in the relationship between a person’s ideals and the limitations of external reality. Understanding the gap between the two allows one’s actions to be inspired by moral imagination.

  • Jean-Paul Sartre

Jean-Paul Sartre is famous for coming up with some of the most influential theories on existentialism. He didn’t believe that freedom and responsibility are separable. According to him, we give meaning to our lives through our decisions. Sartre debated that there was no God to provide us with a purpose. Therefore, freedom was a burden on humanity.

  • Isaiah Berlin

Most famous for his concepts of positive and negative freedom, Isaiah Berlin talked about opposing philosophies of liberty. Positive liberty referred to the idea of self-government, similar to Kant’s autonomy. In contrast, negative liberty explores the notion of freedom as being unhindered by other forces.

Freedom Philosophy Essay Topics

You can write an incredible number of works about freedom in philosophy. So how does one choose the best idea? First of all, you can try using our title generator, which will automatically create it for you. Second, you can peruse our list of topics, specially prepared for freedom in philosophy essays.

  1. Examining Berlin’s two concepts of freedom in relation to political liberty.
  2. What is the concept of freedom according to Christian theology?
  3. Dissecting Descartes’ Cogito ergo sum regarding freedom of thought and free will.
  4. Is Kant’s idea of self-freedom tangibly achievable?
  5. The differences and similarities between Hegel’s and Steiner’s philosophies of freedom.
  6. Does the existence of charities undermine the social and economic freedom of individuals?
  7. Social media filtering and the constraints to social freedom imposed by censorship.
  8. The relationships between the concepts of freedom and responsibility.
  9. Can the concept of free will and faith co-exist?
  10. Examining the right to free speech from the point of view of the freedom philosophy.
  11. Is there any true importance of freedom for human beings, according to Sartre?
  12. The main differences in points of contention between 19th and 20th-century freedom philosophers.
  13. Analyzing the fundamental principles of utilitarian ethics concerning freedom.
  14. Exploring Theodore Adorno’s moral philosophy and the un-freedom of the individual.
  15. A reflection on Schopenhauer’s philosophy and the moral responsibility for one’s actions.
  16. How does the idea of determinism contradict the concept of free will?

In this article, we have only touched upon the topic of freedom. There are still hundreds of philosophers and hundreds of ideas left. To continue exploring these ideas, consider reading through our human freedom philosophy essay samples. We’re sure they will help you deepen your understanding of this topic!

Thank you for reading!

53 Freedom in Philosophy Essay Examples

Are We Free or Determined?

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A decision to do the right thing in the society, for example, is determined by the moral standards that have been set by the society.
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1445

Freedom and Determinism

On the other hand, determinism theory explains that there is an order that leads to occurrences of events in the world and in the universe.
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1716

Free Will: Towards Hume’s Compatibilist Approach

According to Williams, libertarians are of the view that free will is rationally incompatible with the concept of determinism, and that a deterministic world may be rationally impossible or false.
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1833
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Saint Augustine and the Question of Free Will

Applying Augustine's idea of free will to the concept of an all-knowing God, one could think that after God deprived Adam and Eve of free will, the future choices we make are made by God [...]
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 319

The Concept of Free Will by Susan Wolf

In the Asymmetry of the Reason view, Wolf argues that responsibility depends on the aptitude to operate and act in agreement with the true and good.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 564

Freedom and the Role of Civilization

The achievements demonstrated by Marx and Freud play a significant role in the field of sociology and philosophy indeed; Marx believed in the power of labor and recognized the individual as an integral part of [...]
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2291
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Susan Wolf’s Philosophy

According to Wolf, the deep self is than inner part of a human that has the ability to control the desires, values and is responsible for self reflection.
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1088

Determinism Argument and Objection to It

The key idea behind this notion is that "everything that's happening now and that will happen in the future was already guaranteed to happen by things that happened in the distant past".
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1103

Human Free Will in Philosophical Theories

The above factors are completely out of our control thereby affirming the fact that we do not act out of free will. Essentially, we may seem to have free will but our actions and decisions [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 558

Sartre’s Argument ‘Existence Precedes Essence’

At the same time, it could be argued that Sartre is overstating the extent to which people can define themselves when saying that 'existence precedes essence.' While he is correct in asserting that individuals are [...]
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 316

Democracy: The Influence of Freedom

Democracy is the basis of the political systems of the modern civilized world. Accordingly, the democracy of Athens was direct that is, without the choice of representatives, in contrast to how it is generated nowadays.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 555

The Role of Free Will and Determinism

Thus, the presence of free will is important for marking a person as guilty and subsequent punishment. We can define the soul as the consciousness of matter, its mental world, responsible for it.
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 286
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Philosophers’ Thoughts on Liberty

German philosopher argues that one should have the freedom only for creating something of value for herself or himself or for others and be able to take responsibility for their own actions.
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 399

Free Will vs. Determinism as Philosophical Concepts

An objective and meticulous examination of the freedom and responsibility spectrum that highlights the difference between choice and causation explains whether human actions are free or predetermined.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 620

Why Is a Man Free: Philosophical Perspective

One of the primary conditions of freedom in the theory of free will, according to Campbell, is the availability of alternative opportunities, or the ability "to do otherwise".
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 318

Free Will in Human Life: Reality or Fraud?

The paradox of the question about free will for humans is also related to the role of God and the impossibility of great philosophers to provide a clear answer.
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1687
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Free Will and Its Possible Extent

According to Compatibilism philosophy, Clarence's murdering his girlfriend is a free action, because, as Hume states, "the conjunction between motives and voluntary actions is as regular and uniform as that between cause and effect in [...]
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 310

Autonomy or Independence by E. Durkheim and T. Adorno

As far as Emile Durkheim is concerned, we should that the overarching argument of his work comes down to the following: he suggests that the constant process of labor division or specialization as it is [...]
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1659

Master Zhuang’s Philosophical Theory of Freedom

Zhuang Zi is the name for both the traditional sinological transcription of the name of the putative author, and of the title of his major work Zhuang Zi."Chuang Tzu" is simply the transliteration according to [...]
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 2066
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The Existence of Freedom

This paper assumes that it is the cognizance of the presence of choices for our actions that validates the existence of free will since, even if some extenuating circumstances and influences can impact what choice [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 832
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Inconsistency of the Compatibilist

At the same time, compatibilists stress that the free will exists as in the majority of cases people have a variety of options and they are often free to choose any way.
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1101

Do Humans Have Free Will?

However, he takes the view that some humans are not guided only by laws to act and they are not able to exercise their own free will.
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1368

Satre human freedom

Sartre continues to explain that freedom is the central factor in human beings and it is permanently connected to the "for-itself" or consciousness. In the end, Sartre's definition of freedom is that it is the [...]
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1626

Free Will of a Heroin Addict

This paper seeks to present the case of a heroin addict who makes herself and the other people surrounding her suffer evaluating whether she is the one to be fully responsible for her actions or [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 572
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Freedom of the Will

His appeal is on behalf of not just the unsuccessful and downtrodden but of the criminal and degraded classes and a condemnation of what passes for 'justice', divine and human.
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 857

The Issue of the Free Will

On the one hand, the opponents of the hard determinism state that free will exists and people do not base their own decisions on anything, however, it is possible to say that the decision was [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 822

The meaning of freedom today

In order to come up with an agreeable and logical definition of freedom as it is in the contemporary society, people have critically analyzed the input of these philosophers and their definition of freedom in [...]
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1564
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