The Term Positive Freedom - Essay Example

WITHOUT POSITIVE FREEDOM, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO LEAD A VALUABLE LIFE.’ DO YOU AGREE? By + Name City, State Date Introduction The term positive freedom can be defined as the right or capacity of people with their free will able to determine the measure of their own actions, especial in the environment which they free to develop harness their full potential. Although, the individual might only enjoy full freedom around their own community, positive freedom means being free and having individual ability to develop and grow without hindrance or flourish and self-mastery, a person to become autonomous and be in a position to realize God-given potential or self-fulfillment (Carter, 2004). Therefore, it is true that valuable life might not be achieved in absence of positive freedom, people need to choose the course of their life and destiny without restrictions, freedom is essential also where individual potential is harnessed for the benefit of the whole society although in the process of enjoying this freedom care should be taken to make sure that other peoples liberty is not violated. In the process of enjoying positive freedom equity in opportunity must be regulated or observed, state may intervene to enforce equity and root out other social evils due to positive freedom (Raz, 1988). In a nutshell, complete absence of positive freedom leads to bad and impossible valuable life because every individual wants to operate in an environment which they feel free not intimidating surroundings, this will increase their productivity that in return improve the living condition and life at large for the whole society. A society that feels able to function without interruption although certain aspects must be observed as mentioned above (MacCallum, 1967). Positive freedom acts as an inner driving force in individuals. This equates and augers well autonomy. At the same time, autonomy many a time equates with several aspects that include individuality, integrity, and freedom of the will, responsibility, and critical reflection. In the same way, factors like self-knowledge, independence, freedom from compulsion, lack of external causation and self assertion play vital roles in perpetuating positive freedom. Different people have got varied notions about the steps that others should take to shape their lives. This is because individuals get involved in activities that portray absence of good morals. It has forced researchers to attempt to identify standing reasons that lie behind dissimilar nature of crimes that individuals commit. Even for all their attempts, the researchers are not able to impose their findings about criminology and its associated theories on individuals. Many accounts of autonomy with regard to positive freedom and liberty share one thing in common. This is all about individuals being able to freely shape their lives (Raz, 1988). Without this positive freedom, it is difficult for an individual to live a life that is valuable in any way. Enforcing rules and regulations in an individual makes them live in fear of the rules that are set a part. As a result, they live a restricted life, a kind that lacks freedom that people require for peaceful coexistence. Positive freedom enables a person to be the author of their own lives. It is the same that facilitates processes involved in letting a person be the maker of their lives. For this to happen, an individual must possess capabilities associated with good decision making. For instance, they must have mental abilities that enable them to form complex and sufficient intentions. This makes them plan well for execution of any nature, an aspect that is required in the society. For a person to fully utilize their positive freedom, they must have the least in terms of rationality. Additionally, should have the ability to figure out means that are needed for them to realize their set goals and standards. As if this is not enough, a person requires mental faculties as Raz (1988) noted. These faculties are necessary and help individuals in planning and accounting for their actions. Most people around the world possess the above described mental capabilities to make right decisions. This means that they need positive freedom to act as their driving force as they face the day-to-day life. Living in the cosmopolitan society like the one that individuals dwell in offers immense opportunities that necessitate actions that come by as a result of free will. People meet different people, associate with them and relate in many dissimilar ways. That is a valid reason that will prove the point that it is only through positive freedom that people will be able to lead a valuable life. Positive freedom entails a lot. In the first place, it is concerned with opportunities that are readily obtainable by individuals to help them realize their potential. As a matter of fact, people are created differently and possess different capabilities that help them sail through difficult situations. Even when they are stuck in bad times, it is the power of reason that enables them to find solution to their problems. This means that positive freedom, the one that lacks restriction makes individuals live their required kind of life. It is through the positive freedom that a person realizes opportunities that come along with every passing moment. Freedom eventually means being liberated from different kinds of social evils that may afflict human existence in a negative way. Freedom entails factors and processes that lead to a peaceful living in the society. There are many social evils that may deprive people their right to live as they want. It is better to identify the vices that hinder the positive and peaceful living like denying individuals their rights to do whatever they feel like as long as they will never affect others in the wrong way. This is what a person should fight for, fight for the right of free living without getting associated with the evils that create diseases to them emotionally or physically. Moreover, positive freedom recognizes the social disadvantages as enemy of freedom. The social disadvantages emanate from all manners of laws that are enacted to govern people’s morality. Again, the social disadvantages are evident in physical restraints that a society puts in place solely to check on their mode of behavior as well as their code of conduct. When a person considers the provisions of the law and physical restraints, they will live in a society that controls steps that they make in terms of the enacted laws. This aspect denies them a chance of free living, a life that many would wish to live in its absence. In the absence of positive freedom that is attributed to by the laws and restraints, it becomes impossible to live a valuable life. Positive freedom has got numerous suggestions that it puts across. One of them is that liberty can be expanded by economic intervention as well as welfare considerations. In this, individuals that consider their wellbeing are in a position to experience the positive freedom. In the same way, people that intervene economically have all it takes to better the society. They lift it from an era of struggle with the will and rightful living to an era that authenticates free will, freedom of all manners of expression as well as the proper ways or carrying out activities and plans without interfering with any person’s life. As had been seen earlier, positive freedom is associated with the identification of freedom with equality of opportunities. It is only by positive freedom that an individual has a clear definition of their opportunities that they get hold of and utilize in the most appropriate ways. Without positive freedom, a person’s interest is subjected to the society and its laws that ultimately define it. It the long run, the definition of an individual’s interest robs them of responsibility for their own lives. Lack of positive freedom enslaves a person and makes individuals base their mode of operation on laws that govern social aspects of their lives. Positive freedom is relatively different from negative freedom. Whereas negative freedom takes place without imposing external constraints on individuals, positive freedom goes ahead to and focuses on the capability of a person to whatever they want to do. For instance, a person may have freedom to travel to their preferred destinations. This is possible without imposition of any prohibitions to the travel. In the negative freedom, a person is able to travel. The positive aspect of the freedom comes along with regard to little or no opportunity because of limited funds. Lack of sufficient funds that makes travelling successful is regarded as positive freedom. Positive freedom is a view that makes individuals in the society to live a particular type of life. In the same way, it entails the view that makes people to be meticulous types of persons. The positive freedom focus much on the human and their nature of identifying goals that they need to accomplish so as to live a fulfilling kind of life. In order to attain spiritual nourishment, people in the society decide to restrict themselves to a religion of their choices. They then restrict themselves and deny themselves some activities so that they may be what they thing is good to be. Positive freedom makes it possible for people to make their rightful decisions in accordance with what they feel the right thing to undertake. The roles that positive freedom plays in a society are immeasurable. For instance, in political fields, leaders of the society may highlight what they feel is good for the lives of society members. This takes place especially when the leaders understand that the actions resulting from positives freedom are beneficial to the members of the society that are ignorant of the benefits associated with their freedom. For examples, there are society members that may not consider education as important as other do. When leaders make education compulsory in the society, it benefits members of the society that include sons and daughters of the parents found within. Abolishing the nature of positive freedom makes people live a life that is far from any valuable aspects. Positive freedom also points to legal authority in the society that acts dissimilar ways. However, the measures that a government takes in order to come up with the legalities should be in the interest of individual citizens. Many of the citizens are aware of what they need. This is the point that the government picks up to ensure that they make it legal and applied to all members of the society. As a matter of fact positivity involved with freedom therefore becomes paramount to life that members of the society live. It is a vital aspect that needs deep consideration because it entails all that people in a community need. Securing positive freedom requires individuals that are capable of clear reasoning about. Society comprises these kinds of individuals. They are the ones that are able of making the right decisions, the ones that ensure that they carry out simple plans. Moreover, the people in the society go ahead to make difficult decisions as they undertake significant plans based on their belief systems. In the case of difficult situations, individuals in the society make sure that they consider options available, choose freely without interruption from any other sources. They reason without any interference from compulsion or any manipulations. Positive freedom allows individual members of a society to reason based on their commitments. It is only through the commitments that a society is able to support their beliefs systems. Because the society guarantees protection to individual rights and freedom, the positive aspect prevails and allows the members of the society to use their conscious minds to make their decisions in different circumstances. Valuable life then follows an individual that has made rightful decisions based on the positive freedom granted to them as they anticipate. However, the society always bears and witnesses certain controversies regarding freedom in the society. It doesn’t matter whether the freedom id positive or negative but it entails aspects that enable society members to reason in a clear manner. Social aspects in the society also need to be considered in the society to show the correlation of freedom and the social aspects. As had been seen earlier in the discussion, the social aspects in the society that make individuals have choices to consider include standard of living that entails education to all members of the society as well as regard to all aspects that bring collective goodness for the society. In the same way, considering such actions like coming up with legalities of the law that support positive freedom is a good point for individuals to consider. The society has got controversies that emanate from appeals that depict presence or lack of freedom in the society. These controversies have been placed in four categories. In the first place is the nature of the freedom in the society that members enjoy. Secondly, it is about the correlation that exists between gaining freedom and attaining social benefits in the society. The third one is about ranking freedom that the society has among the numerous social benefits. The last one is about outcome of policies regarding freedom in the society (MacCallum, 1967).Disregarding one of the four kinds listed above means disputing another kind because all of them correlate in one way or the other. It is positive freedom that allows individuals in the society to know their rights and exercise them appropriately. Positive freedom enables people in the society to work well, reason out as required and make them handle themselves accordingly. In one second, if positive liberty is let to go and never upheld, individuals in the society may turn to be slaves of one another. Moreover, they can turn to be slaves of their governance, an aspect that makes their rights violated in a great deal. This is why positive freedom is better to in the society. Several aspects of societal life arise from the fact that they are upholding positive freedom. It is the reasoning that is based on positive freedom that enable individuals to know what is right for them individually and as a group. For instance, positive freedom facilitates creation of policies that govern the individuals in the right manner. The current society is full of influences from the fast growing technology and globalization at large. This aspect has made people live in a multicultural society that has different individuals with dissimilar views dwell and live together anyway. To enable a peaceful coexistence, positive freedom play s fundamental role. This is depicted in the manner in which they reason when difficult situations present difficult choices to be made. In order to allow the above to take place, positive freedom calls for group-based policies prescribed, enacted and implemented in the society so as to rid off systematic inequalities (Carter, 2004). Positive freedom work better for minority groups that face injustices of different nature. For example, if a minority group faces an injustice in recognition, it is only the group that may come up and define what is good for their society and all within it. In the same way, a group that faces injustice of distribution ought to define ways like coming up with remedies that do away with inequality in the wide society. In conclusion, the discussion above agrees with the notion that without positive freedom, it is difficult to live a valuable life. It is better for individuals to understand the meaning of freedom as the capacity of people with their free will to be able to determine the measure of their own actions just as was explained above. Individuals need to choose the course of their lives without any restrictions imposed on them. Freedom is essential also where individual potential is harnessed for the benefit of the whole society. In the process of enjoying this kind of freedom care should be taken to make sure that the rights of other individuals in the society are not violated in any way. All in all, complete absence of positive freedom leads to bad and impossible valuable life. This is because every person wants to operate in an environment in which they feel free as opposed to other environments that are intimidating to dwell in. as has been seen in the discussion above, it is positive freedom that acts as driving force for individuals in the society. This introduced the aspect of autonomy that equates with several aspects of freedom and its course of action like individuality, integrity, and freedom of the will, responsibility, and critical reflection. In the same way, factors like self-knowledge, independence, freedom from compulsion, lack of external causation and self assertion play vital roles in perpetuating positive freedom. Therefore, without positive freedom, it is impossible to lead a valuable life. References CARTER, I. (2004). A measure of freedom. Oxford, Oxford University Press. HEIDEGGER, M. (2005). The essence of human freedom: an introduction to philosophy. London, Continuum. FLIKSCHUH, K. (2007). Freedom contemporary liberal perspectives. Cambridge, UK, Polity Press. http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=1180358 MacCallum, G. (1967). Negative and positive freedom NASH, R. H. (1980). Freedom, justice, and the State. Lanham, Md, University Press of America. RAZ, J. (1988). The morality of freedom. Oxford [England], Clarendon Press SMITH, T. (1995). Moral rights and political freedom. Lanham, Md, Rowman & Littlefield. Read More