The importance of individual freedom?

Gavin "shels"

Why do you think individual freedom is importance and why? If you don't think it is explain?



Very random question I know

Red Hand

Gavin, are you writing an essay for school?:p

Gavin "shels"

Nope. It's already written. Just want to see peoples opinion on the matter.;)

togster

the mods have it tough around here

Gav to answer your question... yes

Pherekydes

Gavin shels wrote: »

Nope. It's already written. Just want to see peoples opinion on the matter.;)

Can we see it before we give our opinions? Maybe it'll need some proofreading.

Gavin "shels"

Slow coach wrote: »

Can we see it before we give our opinions? Maybe it'll need some proofreading.

Yup I'll post it later.




*Gavin sprints away from the computer and down the road. Never to be seen again.*:D

togster

Gavin shels wrote: »

*Gavin sprints away from the computer and down the road. Never to be seen again.*:D

tease

Red Hand

OK, I'll start off the first few lines and other Afterhours people can quote this post, and bit by bit, we will have an essay finished by tommorrow morning. Hopefully no English/History teachers will look at this...:D


The concept of individual freedom and it's definition have changed and varied amid the great peaks and troughs of history. Since history began, cultures and states have always had acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. This still manifests itself today, be you a tribesman in remotest highland New Guinea, or a computor literate Western citizen...

biko

I agree with GWB

"If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator." - Washington, D.C., Dec. 19, 2000

Just as long as I was the dictator, or even
"Girls, this is not a DEMocracy, this is a CHEERocracy and I'm the cheertator!!"

Gavin "shels"

Jeremiah 16:1 wrote: »

OK, I'll start off the first few lines and other Afterhours people can quote this post, and bit by bit, we will have an essay finished by tommorrow morning. Hopefully no English/History teachers will look at this...:D

Don't need it till next Thursday, so take your time.:D and I won't be here until Sunday to look at progress.:p

Fremen

I guess you're likely to get a lot of "Freedom is a good thing" answers to a question like that. To be honest, I think it's a bit of a crappy question: "Freedom " is an extremely ill-defined concept.

Having looked it up in an online dictionary, the two most relevant definitions as I see them are:
1: The state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint
2: exemption from external control, interference, regulation

If you think about freedom as in the first definition, then, yeah, it's important. If I was "under physical restraint" then it would be fairly hard to actually get **** done. Shopping wouldn't be easy if I were handcuffed, for example.

If you take it as in definitition two, then I call shenanigans. No-one is free, since all actions have consequences. Ok, so I'm "free" to sleep with my friend's girlfriend, but then I have to accept that he won't be my friend for much longer in that case. Likewise, I'm "free" to take a shot at Bertie Ahern (assuming I have a clear line of sight). I just have to accept that I'll go to prison for it.

Edit: maybe this would be better in humanities. Oh, and "yore ma".

You are all individuals!
We are all individuals!

...

I'm not.

Agamemnon

Freedom isn't free,
It costs folks like you and me,
And if we don't all chip in,
We'll never pay that bill.
Freedom isn't free,
No, there's a hefty in' fee.
And if you don't throw in your buck 'o five,
Who will?

MCMLXXXIII

It is important to me because it is important to civilization.

People need to be free to do what they want. If someone is forced to do things they do not like, they will not accell in it or improve the process. The freedom of choice allows for dedicated workers to create newer and better things, and improved ways of doing things that are already known.

That's why *most* westernized countries do not even like thinking of communism, because countries like Russia are still behind because they never created anything new and are having a hard time catching up to the rest of the capitolistic world.

rubadub

MCMLXXXIII wrote: »

People need to be free to do what they want.

But sometimes one persons "freedom" conflicts with another persons freedom/rights. A prime example being the smoking ban, at the time loads were moaning about their "civil liberties being taken away", the right to inflict what some consider a noxious gas in enclosed areas around others who wanted, or would prefer to breathe relatively smokeless air.

And many who think they deserved the right to smoke highly addictive drugs around children would object to adults who wanted to ingest other recreational drugs in their own home, not even smoke them.

Overheal

The individual has the right to alcohol but that frequently infringes on other people in the form of noise and abuse and vandalism. If you live on a main street you know what I mean, with the 3am roaming idiot brigades.

MCMLXXXIII

rubadub wrote: »

But sometimes one persons "freedom" conflicts with another persons freedom/rights.

I agree with you 100%. I was discounting that to save from typing all the exceptions.

However, due to the freedom to vote and have an oppinion, people were able to voice their oppinion to make the world a cleaner and better place. I'm just glad that people make healthier choices...but if they didn't, I would have the freedom to move to a place that they did.

nyarlothothep

well, people are free to do what they want as long as it doesn't affect anyone else. I think this would also apply to masses of people acting in a really stupid manner, say with pollution but nothing being done to stop it=drastic negative change in the environment, or mass suicide or human sacrifice=unnecessary loss of human life. Then I think their freedom to do those things is nonsense and they need to be shepherded. But it becomes uber grey when you consider how the majority operates and how certain individuals can be affected, but not necessarily in an obvious negative way. ie they complain that they are affected negatively but its not a valid complaint on their part. Imo there are many answers as regards the issue of freedom for different contexts and many of these answers are a matter of individual perspective, though human sacrifice situations and the like are obviously clear cut.

Dyr

Can't somebody else do it?

Fremen

That's why *most* westernized countries do not even like thinking of communism, because countries like Russia are still behind because they never created anything new and are having a hard time catching up to the rest of the capitolistic world.

Pure waffle: soviet-era mathematicians were top-notch, communists managed the first orbit of earth, and China is the world's fastest growing economy.

Black Swan

It's important to me (whatever it is...).:rolleyes:

Dave!

curtail the sh*t out of it

User45701

As a indvidual you have the right to not partake in a failed education system. However i belive there is some legal obligation for your parents. Attend school but dont waste your time doing homework... Thats your timed to do what you want.

The education system is a failure. If every single student where just to oppose it there would be no choice but to re-work it.

Gavin "shels"

Anymore opinions. I need about another a4 page.:D

Rb

Christ, even the market research spammers are less annoying than a kid looking for others to do his homework for him.

Random

Jeremiah 16:1 wrote: »

OK, I'll start off the first few lines and other Afterhours people can quote this post, and bit by bit, we will have an essay finished by tommorrow morning. Hopefully no English/History teachers will look at this...:D


The concept of individual freedom and it's definition have changed and varied amid the great peaks and troughs of history. Since history began, cultures and states have always had acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. This still manifests itself today, be you a tribesman in remotest highland New Guinea, or a computor literate Western citizen...

... and in conclusion, I'd like to thank the people of boards.ie, Eircom.net technical department, the great people at the ESB (hey Paddy!), Eircom phonewatch and my Dad, without all these people this would not have been possible.

Oh .. and Dell ... Cheers Michael!

Piste

Individual freedom is incredibly important but only to an extent, when it impinges on someone else's freedom then it can't be right, but then you end up in a situation where at any point in order for the majority to be happy certain people's liberties must be cutailed.

galwayrush

Piste wrote: »

Individual freedom is incredibly important but only to an extent, when it impinges on someone else's freedom then it can't be right, but then you end up in a situation where at any point in order for the majority to be happy certain people's liberties must be cutailed.

Agree, Shaira Law being the first example that springs to mind, should it be allowed because they should have the freedom to impose it on others?

Piste

They should have the freedom to choose to follow most aspects of sharia law, as long as they're not conflicting with the law of the country in which they live (so no choppoing off people's hands like muck savages) and as long as they're not attempting to impose it upon others.