Does freedom mean doing whatever we want?

Answer 1

For some people it does, but in general, no. If "doing whatever you want" means breaking laws for instance, or hurting someone else, then your freedom could be limited as a result of your choices... you might go to jail, for instance, or the person you hurt might hurt you back, and limit your freedom to move, or breathe, or something else pretty important.

Also, the freedom to do some things requires a lot of effort on our parts first. For example, the freedom to practice medicine might require you to study for many years to earn that opportunity. Or the freedom to play the piano for your friends might also require study, depending on what you want to play and how hard it is for you to learn that instrument. The freedom to function in Another Country could be limited by your knowledge of the language or culture, and whether you choose to abide by the laws of that country.

Freedom is very important, but it isn't usually just doing whatever you want. It is more the ideal of being in a place where you can make your own choices and accept the associated consequences, instead of having your life or beliefs dictated to you by another person, group, or government, and having to live with consequences that you had no say in. The challenge in learning to use our freedom is trying to understand consequences, and how our personal freedom interacts with the freedom of the people around us. If we never work at anything, then we might find ourselves in a life that we didn't want, but which we chose by default be not working for something better. ... If we treat someone badly, we have to accept the probability that that person could treat us badly in return... and through making all of those complex choices in life, we eventually learn how we prefer to treat people and how it will affect others as well as ourselves, etc. We start understanding the consequences that are tied to every choice that we make, and maybe looking forward a little more so that we can choose better consequences down the road.

Answer 2

True freedom involves making choices that align with our values and beliefs, while also respecting the rights and well-being of others. Acting without consideration for consequences or hurting others is not true freedom, but rather a lack of responsibility. Ultimately, freedom is about making mindful choices that promote growth and harmony within ourselves and our communities.