Are Humans Free?
The king of Thebes had a prophecy of woe, laden upon his shoulders. The oracle promised that his own son would kill him in cold blood, claiming his mother as his wife. Blindly, King Laius abandoned his son in the woods, in his attempts to avoid his fate he only sealed it. Oedipus grew old, learned of the terrible prophecy and lashed out at a wary traveler. This man unknowingly was Oedipus’ father and king, Laius. Oedipus Rex is a tragic tale of, our destiny is set, an unwavering force leading us to our predetermined fate. Humans are not free. An external force drives us whether it be God or past events. We may feel free, for example, I had three cinnamon rolls this morning because I felt like it but this is flawed, I ate three …show more content…
What is Liberty? President Abraham Lincoln acknowledges the differing ideas of Liberty, giving a brief story showing the drastically different views on the subject. “The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep’s throat, for which the sheep thanks the shepherd as a liberator, while the wolf denounces him for the same act as the destroyer of liberty...” Hume defines liberty as, “A power of acting or not acting according to determinations of the will.” Liberty in that sense is the capability I have to act upon the things I desire to do, my will. For example, if I desire to eat a dozen chicken nuggets and I have the ability to do, then I am at liberty to stuff my face with a dozen chicken nuggets, although I may regret that decision in the near future. This sort of liberty, Hume defines, can be relished by everyone unless they’re physically incapable to do so, for example, I do not have the money or car to obtain and scarf down a dozen nuggets. A verse from First Corinthians 9:19 declares, “Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.” This suggests that we as humans are not free. We are bound to this world and its laws by our own choosing. The opposite of Liberty is constraint, preventing an action to occur. For example, I really want to wear slippers to class, they are comfortable and easy to slip on, and I soon realize it is raining …show more content…
A libertarian, Augustine would call himself. Without free will, we cannot do good things. Can we still do good things without free will? I say yes we can, if God knows what I am going to do, that does not mean he is going to force me to act that certain way. God is like a store manager watching every piece of a film on the line of flat screen TVs. He may know the conclusion, but that does not discourage from our own drive. Although if one were to act upon my will, influencing me to act a certain way, that would not be me, I would not be held accountable for the inspiration of
The king of Thebes had a prophecy of woe, laden upon his shoulders. The oracle promised that his own son would kill him in cold blood, claiming his mother as his wife. Blindly, King Laius abandoned his son in the woods, in his attempts to avoid his fate he only sealed it. Oedipus grew old, learned of the terrible prophecy and lashed out at a wary traveler. This man unknowingly was Oedipus’ father and king, Laius. Oedipus Rex is a tragic tale of, our destiny is set, an unwavering force leading us to our predetermined fate. Humans are not free. An external force drives us whether it be God or past events. We may feel free, for example, I had three cinnamon rolls this morning because I felt like it but this is flawed, I ate three …show more content…
What is Liberty? President Abraham Lincoln acknowledges the differing ideas of Liberty, giving a brief story showing the drastically different views on the subject. “The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep’s throat, for which the sheep thanks the shepherd as a liberator, while the wolf denounces him for the same act as the destroyer of liberty...” Hume defines liberty as, “A power of acting or not acting according to determinations of the will.” Liberty in that sense is the capability I have to act upon the things I desire to do, my will. For example, if I desire to eat a dozen chicken nuggets and I have the ability to do, then I am at liberty to stuff my face with a dozen chicken nuggets, although I may regret that decision in the near future. This sort of liberty, Hume defines, can be relished by everyone unless they’re physically incapable to do so, for example, I do not have the money or car to obtain and scarf down a dozen nuggets. A verse from First Corinthians 9:19 declares, “Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.” This suggests that we as humans are not free. We are bound to this world and its laws by our own choosing. The opposite of Liberty is constraint, preventing an action to occur. For example, I really want to wear slippers to class, they are comfortable and easy to slip on, and I soon realize it is raining …show more content…
A libertarian, Augustine would call himself. Without free will, we cannot do good things. Can we still do good things without free will? I say yes we can, if God knows what I am going to do, that does not mean he is going to force me to act that certain way. God is like a store manager watching every piece of a film on the line of flat screen TVs. He may know the conclusion, but that does not discourage from our own drive. Although if one were to act upon my will, influencing me to act a certain way, that would not be me, I would not be held accountable for the inspiration of