People of all walks of life had asked about the meaning of freedom. Too many have had searched what the term's meaning is all about. Too many great thinkers have given too much time in answering the questions of freedom. They have written too many pages regarding this term "freedom". Often, the statement will start with, "Freedom is ..." That after the phrase "freedom is", hellipsis in this instance, is what the people want to fill in. What is after the phrase "Freedom is"?
When we say "freedom is", we already affirm that freedom exists because of the "is" which is. Yes, indeed freedom does exist. It resides in human existence. Man is the composite of body and soul. Body as his materiality and soul as his immateriality. Body is what we see and feel, something that our senses can be aware of. Soul is where our intellect and will resides. Man's intellect is the ability of human mind to think and comprehend, that is to understand. WILL is man's power to voluntarily, that is, in itself without the influence of his outer world, choose what to do or not to. His being free resides on the will that resides in the soul of man.
Naturally, man is totally free in and by himself/herself. So, how come that too many people is wasting their time in search of freedom? Even if they will spend their whole life searching around the globe, they cannot find freedom. It is because freedom, which they are searching for, could not be found outside this world, but within man's identity.
Now, man is living in the world, in the world of materiality. Food, shelter and clothing are the basic things man should have in order to live and survive. Man cannot separate himself from the world as he cannot separate himself from his body. Only death can. Yes, man should die first before he can separate himself from the world. He should realize that his body is just a thing in which his appearance is sensible. He should realize that his soul is the one keeping his body alive, keeping his senses act. Without the soul, the body will just simply be a matter, a corpse when the soul is separated from the body. However, without man's body, the soul could not be subsisting in him. One proof that man has a soul is that because of his body. That is why, man is composite of body and soul.
Man is an individual person. His being individual is what makes him a single existing being. One that has its own existence. Individuality is what makes him unique to other existing being. As a person, he has his own world to where his action is being acted upon/on. A person with his own intellect and will. He can think and decide for his own without the influence of other being. Here his freedom resides, that is, having his own intellect and will which drives him to act according to what he desires. He has his own ideologies, which he acquired from his childhood to when he reached his capacity to think individually independently.
This is what man is, he is free. He can do and think whatever he wants. So man as he now knows, is free and he will come to know who he is. Having those intellect and will, he realizes now that he is not stupid. He might not be very intelligent person but he has the potential of becoming that too at least. He will just have to polish it by practice. He shall increase his vocabulary by reading. And he can also widen his knowledge and be updated through listening to the radio and stories of other people and through watching tv and internet. With critique mind, he can guard himself to be influenced that easily.
Man is an individual person. His being individual is what makes him a single existing being. One that has its own existence. Individuality is what makes him unique to other existing being. As a person, he has his own world to where his action is being acted upon/on. A person with his own intellect and will. He can think and decide for his own without the influence of other being. Here his freedom resides, that is, having his own intellect and will which drives him to act according to what he desires. He has his own ideologies, which he acquired from his childhood to when he reached his capacity to think individually independently.
This is what man is, he is free. He can do and think whatever he wants. So man as he now knows, is free and he will come to know who he is. Having those intellect and will, he realizes now that he is not stupid. He might not be very intelligent person but he has the potential of becoming that too at least. He will just have to polish it by practice. He shall increase his vocabulary by reading. And he can also widen his knowledge and be updated through listening to the radio and stories of other people and through watching tv and internet. With critique mind, he can guard himself to be influenced that easily.
