FREEDOM: A PRECARIOUS HUMAN INVENTION
There is no cherry picking, or else the cake will collapse.
Clear and Present Dangers
Freedom is a figment of the human imagination — an invention, a notion, an idea, an abstract concept wholly fabricated by us to ameliorate the human condition. But in fact, freedom does not exist. It is an invention by human beings, for human beings and exclusive to us. However, fundamentally, it is neither existent in the physical world, nor is it a natural and pre-existing condition in human societies. A fact that also applies to those other abstract ideas we’ve invented and collectively call human rights, of which freedom is fundamental. Of note, human rights come with inherent and corresponding duties and responsibilities; as such it is up to us to define, codify, respect, protect, and if necessary to defend them.
Indeed, outside of the human context, no particle, organism, or creature great or small is free, i.e., if freedom could be applied to inanimate objects like planets, stars, trees, and rocks as well as animate ones such as viruses, bacteria, plants, and animals.
This is the case because, fundamentally, all matter — from simple organisms such as the single-celled amoeba to complex beings including humans — is ruled by a myriad of natural phenomena we call the laws of nature. In addition to these physical laws, there are man-made laws that either deny or limit freedom as well, namely, secular laws (criminal and civil laws) and religious laws. These are usually codified in either civil books of law or religious books such as the Bible, Tora, and the Koran. Consequently, all of these codes of laws, whether they be natural or man-made, put limitations, or conditions on our rights and freedoms as these fundamentally don’t exist. If they exist, they do so within tight constraints.
That the physical world puts endless limitations on us is undeniable. To begin with, existence itself, if we agree that it exists, is dependent on a number of factors and conditions that enable it to take place. ‘To be or not to be,’ as the question goes. We and all matter, organic or not, are slaves to those physical phenomena we call and accept as natural laws.
Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation is the most familiar to us and the most fundamental of all. It is with this phenomenon that we become painfully aware of the limitations to our freedom every time we trip, stumble, or fall as we inevitably hit the ground, for we are inexorably chained to earth’s surface. And if we are foolish enough to attempt to escape it, by leaping off a tall building for example, we are woefully if not mortally reminded of gravity’s invisible chains attached to our physical bodies.
Also, and we read or hear about this on a daily basis, Newton’s Law of Inertia tells us that if we forget to put on the brakes, we’ll hit the car in front of us, and many do forget. These are only two of the most well-known physical laws, but there are many more. In fact, there is a long list of these so-called laws or theories to which we are subject. Therefore, the very essence of existence and life itself is not free at all. Thus, to believe that we are free, in any sense of the word is, to say the least, debatable. Yet, since we have created and believe in these virtuous ideas and concepts, it is desirable to examine them more closely.
Most dictionaries and encyclopedias define freedom in two ways: as a ‘power’ or as a ‘right’. Its opposite, captivity, being the absence or lack of that power or right. In other words, a slave is not free for he or she is denied freedom; an individual not allowed to vote is likewise denied that right; and those who cannot express their views for fear of reprisal, imprisonment or worse, are denied the freedom of expression. On the contrary, those fortunate enough to enjoy these rights possess them.
Thus, we agree that, despite the physical and man-made laws there are such things as freedom and other human rights, commonly referred to as fundamental rights. These include the freedom of expression; the freedom of movement; the freedom of self-determination ( i.e., to act and do as we wish); and to exercise these rights. Fundamental to this is the right to “habeas corpus” — in other words, the right not to be detained without due cause and due process.
However, democratic societies have attached duties and responsibilities to these rights and framed them in what is usually called a constitution or the law of the land. This is what has come to be known as the social contract; originally, an agreement between rulers and the ruled under which the latter agree to limit or give up some of their freedoms in exchange for physical protection and certain rights (as well as the protection of these rights). The Magna Carta is one of the earliest of such ‘social contracts’ and was not limited to the King and his barons as the writ of habeus corpus was.
Later, other western European and American democracies followed suit, drafting their own versions of the Magna Carta, and incorporating the writ of habeas corpus within their constitutions. Hereby, the ‘rulers’ are elected by the ‘ruled,’ in order to assure that the powers given to the former are not abused or violated to the detriment of the latter. Moreover, the duties and responsibilities inherent in these rights and freedoms are crucial to the preservation and safekeeping of these rights, and for the preservation of democracy itself. Immanuel Kant, the 18th century Prussian philosopher, called these collectively, the ‘categorical imperative’ — a concept equivalent to our more modern, ‘moral imperative’.
Therefore, in view of the delicate nature of this most unique of human inventions — freedom and all of human rights, it is imperative that they be protected.
In addition, that the responsibilities attached to them be recognized. These responsibilities contain, among others, respecting the law; civil duties such as voting when elections are held (in some countries voting is mandatory); and most importantly, to act in solidarity with society when it is threatened by either internal or external dangers such as rogue populists, enemy states, or their agents. Currently the biological threat confronting our societies, the pandemic, is such an enemy. It is a clear and present danger.
To make democracy work, we have to abide by the responsibilities and duties democracy entails. There is no cherry picking, or else the cake will collapse.
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