A New Look at the Concept of Freedom

The concept of freedom differs from person to person. The base definition of freedom in most concepts is objective (physical) freedom, meaning that one is not in captivity. While many focus on objective freedom, we sometimes forget to account for the concept of subjective freedom (or in a better definition, spiritual and psychological freedom). The concept of objective freedom was well understood throughout history, especially because of institutions like slavery and prison. Because of observation of slavery, many knew that freedom meant not being a slave and having the ability to come and go as one pleases. Although mankind knew about objective freedom and the ability to do what we wish in life, many thought that fate and destiny were pre-determined, meaning nobody was ever subjectively free. The minds of mankind were held captive by gods and fate. People would do nothing without consideration for the appeasing of their deities for fear of bad fortune. While prison is objective captivity, fear is subjective captivity. My thoughts on the matter are that we are all subjectively free and therefore objectively free as well. We choose our own fate and are the masters of our own destiny, even if we are not objectively free. We have the power to control our own lives and change our own life situations.
The subject of objective freedom is merely 3 dimensional. As I sit here writing this article, I am objectively free in the sense that nobody is forcing me to write this essay. I could get up at any time and leave without any physical obstacle. Objective captivity in most forms is mainly extended to prison, slavery and any other use of physical force to manipulate a human being. If I was objectively captured, I would, for instance, be chained to my desk and forced to write this article at gunpoint. I could get up and leave but it would be difficult to get out of the chains and escape the gunman. Despite objective captivity, I am still free to plot my way out of this situation. As long as I don’t let fear judge my actions I have subjective freedom and I can make the choice regarding my situation.
Subjective freedom, as opposed to objective freedom, is four dimensional. That is, in theory, a person can do whatever he or she wishes so long as his or her psyche is not controlled through fear or another form of psychological manipulation. Going back to my example of being forced to write this essay; I am writing it because I want to; that is my subjective freedom allowing me to choose my current situation. If someone was forcing me to write this at gunpoint however, I may be objectively captive but I am still subjectively free because I always have the option of standing up and fighting the gunman as long as I don’t let fear dictate my actions. Another condition of subjective freedom is that one must accept the possible outcomes of the actions being made. In this case there are two possibilities; I can fight against the gunman, render him defenseless and leave successfully, or I can try to resist the assailant and fail, getting killed in the process. If I choose to fight, I must accept the fact that I could die but if my physical freedom is more important to me than life, I can take the risk and fight until death. Freedom is therefore in essence, taking an action with full acceptance of the consequences and consideration of the different options involved in the choice of actions. It is also the act of putting fear on the shelf and making choices without being controlled by it. We are free to either accept the prison that we may be in or we can try to escape, either way we are always free.
Subjective freedom is what founded this great country of ours. Before the Revolutionary War, the colonies were under objective rule of King George. Britain had imposed trade embargos on us and had stationed troops in colonists’ homes. Knowing well the possible outcomes of resisting the British government, the colonists began to fight back fearlessly. They were able to plot strategic attacks against the British troops because the British were not successfully able to use fear to their advantage. In other words, they had a lot of physical control but the colonists’ spirits and psyches were not under British control. The Revolutionaries were not afraid of the outcomes of fighting the British and they were able to gain their objective freedom because they acted without being controlled by fear. Because of subjective freedom from British tyranny, the Revolutionaries fought for freedom and formed the United States of America, an institution of both objective and subjective freedom.
To recap my main point, we are only as free as we believe we are. We have the power to change our situations in life so long as we consider all angles and options. Other than being able to escape situations that we would consider unfavorable, we can choose our futures too. There is no pre-determined future for any of us because we are the masters of our own destinies. We can choose to be doctors, lawyers or engineers, even if we may seem too old to start college. The glory behind subjective freedom is that we can do whatever our mind and heart tells us, not fear. We are always free as long as we stay away from the subjective captivity also known as fear. With the concept of subjective freedom in mind, one can overcome any obstacle, face any challenge and live a truly happy life.