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.
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.
Examining Berlin’s two concepts of freedom in relation to political liberty.
What is the concept of freedom according to Christian theology?
Dissecting Descartes’ Cogito ergo sum regarding freedom of thought and free will.
Is Kant’s idea of self-freedom tangibly achievable?
The differences and similarities between Hegel’s and Steiner’s philosophies of freedom.
Does the existence of charities undermine the social and economic freedom of individuals?
Social media filtering and the constraints to social freedom imposed by censorship.
The relationships between the concepts of freedom and responsibility.
Can the concept of free will and faith co-exist?
Examining the right to free speech from the point of view of the freedom philosophy.
Is there any true importance of freedom for human beings, according to Sartre?
The main differences in points of contention between 19th and 20th-century freedom philosophers.
Analyzing the fundamental principles of utilitarian ethics concerning freedom.
Exploring Theodore Adorno’s moral philosophy and the un-freedom of the individual.
A reflection on Schopenhauer’s philosophy and the moral responsibility for one’s actions.
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!
As a human being, it is hard to make a decision because of the uncertainty of the outcome, but it is definitely essential for human being to understand clearly the concept and connection between freedom [...]
Hobbes argued that God has a free will because his free will is not affected by anything that happens. On the other hand, George Berkeley believed that free will was controlled by God in his [...]
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".
Determinism is a theory which states that the course of the future is determined by a combination of past events and the laws of nature, creating a unique outcome.
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.
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 [...]
This plainly makes it a duty to love ourselves and regard our own happiness by the value of the scale. It is our desire only that induces within us the spirit to help others therefore [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
The central character of the story, Daru worked as a schoolmaster at a school in the Algerian mountains when the gendarme Balducci brought to him an Arab prisoner, whom Daru was supposed to escort to [...]
The first of them is rigid determinism the statement that determinism is true and there is no free will. The principle of free will has consequences in religion, ethics and science.
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.
On the other hand, however, it would be unreasonable to assume that the phenomenon of free will is entirely applicable in today's social and moral contexts as well.
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 [...]
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.
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.
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".
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.
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 [...]
On the other hand, humans have the ability to make predictions about themselves and others, some of which will come true, undermining the idea of free will.
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 [...]
That which creates, sustains, and maintains life in harmony with the natural cycles of this planet, doing no harm to the ecology or people of the Earth- is right.
Boredom is a condition characterized by low levels of arousal as well as wandering attention and is normally a result of the regular performance of monotonous routines.
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 [...]
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 [...]
John Stuart Mill's view of sovereignty over the mind and the body focuses on the tendency of human beings to exercise liberalism to fulfill their self-interest.
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 [...]
Despite the proof that Nielsen provides for the fact that determinism and freedom can actually coexist and, moreover, complement each other, Nielsen makes it clear that the existence of moral luck defines the boundaries of [...]
The farmer desired to do a variety of things that he had no legal right over this is because, the government in the region had restricted on the type of food the people in the [...]
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.
The difference in the approaches assumed by Kant and Rousseau regarding the norms of liberty and moral autonomy determine the perspective of their theories of justice.
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.
For instance, those who endorse the thesis that determinism depicts compatibility with moral responsibility and free will and the thesis of determinism have also been shown to endorse the thesis of freedom.
The no choice statement provides that if a person lacks choice in relation to p, and also lacks choice in relation to whether if p, then q, then there is no choice in relation to [...]
Ultimately, if it is not possible to model a human brain which functions well, then it can be argued that humans are devoid of free will and that unpredictability is a fruit of chaos, and [...]
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.
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 [...]
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 [...]
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