On Freedom
Freedom is the most precious thing there is. It is the foundation of happiness, and it is available to us with each conscious breath.
Thich Nhat Hanh • The Art of Communicating
We are free not because we can choose, but only when we have chosen well. And to choose well we must ever more clearly see the “sun of the Good” (to employ the lovely Platonic metaphor), and to see more clearly we must continue to choose well; and the more we are emancipated from illusion and caprice, and the more our will is informed by and respon
... See moreDavid Bentley Hart • That All Shall Be Saved: Heaven, Hell, and Universal Salvation
What Lawrence’s life demonstrates so powerfully is that it actually takes a daily effort to be free. To be free is not the result of a moment’s decisive action but a project to be constantly renewed. More than anything else, freedom requires tenaciousness. There are intervals of repose but there will never come a state of definitive rest where you ... See more
It Takes a Daily Effort to Be Free
Political theorist Isaiah Berlin’s distinction between negative and positive freedom explains why so many nomads get stuck. Negative freedom is the absence of external constraints—freedom from something . Positive freedom is the ability to shape one’s life with agency—freedom to do something meaningful .
The Freedom Trap: Why Escaping the System Won’t Set You Free
The choice to be in public depends on the ability to maintain a private sphere of life. We are free only when it is we ourselves who draw the line between when we are seen and when we are not seen.