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Originally Posted by Khethil  Hrmm let's see...
... any 'freedom' bestowed can be abused; taken to extremes as to do others harm. If you consider the term 'freedom', as its used, to be absolute to any level of absurdity; then yes, I'd agree. And if this is the case, you've succeeded in stating the obvious (at least, I'd think, to the majority of *this* crowd). Almost no 'liberty' or 'freedom' given, by any entity, on any basis and for any reason is *absolute* and without qualification. The question for the philosopher, to my way of thinking, is what limits are those? What basis for limits of personal action should there be? For sexuality, what extent of expression is OK, natural, socially acceptable, productive, healthy, etc.
Oh, and I hate to break this to you, but we *are* animals. Intelligent; yes, but animals nonetheless. Accepting this doesn't forgive unacceptable or destructive behavior, but it's a truth well worth keeping in mind.  |
It is not just freedom that is not absolute; but all concepts which are only tentative, and theoretical. So what freedoms does any individual have? Do you expect that at any point in your life that you can stand apart from society and say: My Freedom? We join, or belong to any organization that support our rights. What is the freedom of an individual apart from his society? Traditionally it has been the freedom of the outlaw, what life one can manage, harried, outcast from place to place. Freedom is a moral, which is to say social concept. It is not a physical concept like a square or a circle. It has the meaning we give to it, and we have the freedom society allows to us. We can dispute the matter, but the matter stands as society sees it. And society has jurisdiction over all that is likely to affect it negatively. Just as with a lazy rake, the owner has the right to leave it on the ground as a hazzard, or to stow it properly, because it has the likelyhood of affecting him negatively, so that is within the province of his disgression. Certainly the same must be true of society if it can see danger and prevent it. And this does not mean that the larger society does not often over step their boundries out of whim or caprice. It is then that the rational argument should be made, and ultimately enforced by the community to which one truly belongs. An example of this is a labor union, or the gay community which set their own standard of conduct and freedom. No one should believe that anyone has the last word on the subject, especially the individual. What do you think