Tuesday, November 08, 2011

Our freedom





In practical daily life there is no uncertainty about man's having free will
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A man's freedom, within certain natural limits, is obvious.
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In his relations to his fellow men his freedom of choice and therefore his responsibility are fundamental.
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Our whole social structure and our laws are founded upon it.
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The whole idea of moral responsibility presupposes free will.
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A man who refused to act
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Or accept responsibility for his acts
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On the ground that he did not have free will
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Would be considered a man of addled brain
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Or one obstructing duty and right action.
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A man whose acts escape the control of his will is defective.
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A hysteric
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Or insane
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The civil courts would send him to an asylum, not to jail.
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They do not execute a man whose free will is inhibited.
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The question of free will is much beclouded by an eager rated idea of what freedom is.
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The assumption, perhaps unconscious, is that if there are any limitations there is no freedom.
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Freedom can only be exercised on condition that it is not abused.
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A man has personal freedom within the laws of society to which he belongs.
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If he violates these laws his freedom is thereafter limited to the inside walls of a prison.
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Does anyone ever doubt or question that a man at liberty has freedom when compared to a man in prison?
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In a society governed by law and order all men have freedom within the limits of law and while they conform to the social order.
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A law abiding citizen is not a slave because he conforms to the necessary restraints of the social order.
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A pity that none of the young who rioted in England had ever thought or heard of the above.
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Their education never got this far, nor was it on their curriculum.
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And yet what other way do uneducated people have to make their feelings and frustrations heard?

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