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Quote of the Day #2: Freedom and Responsibleness
“Freedom, however, is not the last word. Freedom is only part of the story and half of the truth. Freedom is but the negative aspect of the whole phenomenon whose positive aspect is responsibleness. In fact, freedom is in danger of degenerating into mere arbitrariness unless it is lived in terms of responsibleness.” — Viktor Frankl, (1956) Man’s Search for Meaning, p. 209-210.
Freedom is a heady brew. It’s great stuff; simply wonderful.
But, Freedom has a twin sister named Licentiousness, and she’s a spoiled brat. It is not enough to have Freedom, but we must be responsible for her and guard against her twin.
Oh, Licentiousness is a fun gal, and inebriated good times may be had, but in the morning, we’ll be wondering what happened and how we got in this strange place with destruction all around us. Watch out for that girl, Licentiousness.
Published in Religion & Philosophy
Interesting set of analogies. You speak like a man who knows.
We’re all quite fond of Dr. Frankl around here. Speaking of which, here is an interview with him on the very subject addressed in the quote: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=9&v=LlC2OdnhIiQ
Innocent little ol’ me? I have no idea what you could possibly mean by that. 😈
Nice QOTD. I like to think of freedom & responsibility as matched sets, existing in pairs.
freedom of speech – responsibility to tell the truth
freedom of assembly – responsibility not to riot
freedom of religion – responsibility to let others be as free to do so as me
freedom to bear arms – responsibility no to shoot up the neighbors
freedom to trade and conduct business and make contracts. – responsibility to deal honestly and honor the contracts made.
I also make a distinction among freedoms. To me, there is a difference between ‘freedoms to’ and ‘freedoms from’
‘Freedoms to’place responsibilities on ones self. These make perfect sense. I benefit from the freedom to … so I bear the responsibility to use it wisely.
‘Freedoms from’ place responsibilities on others.
Many of rights enumerated in the Constitution are of the ‘freedom from’ sort and place responsibilities on the Federal Government to refrain from particular acts … quartering soldiers, issuing General Warrants, engaging in unreasonable searches, double jeopardy etc
But the Left has other ‘freedoms from’ that seek to attach obligations to and place responsibilities on other individuals. FDRs Four Freedoms included ‘freedom from want’ and ‘freedom from fear’. These seem to encumber all of us. How am I to be made free from want? Is it my responsibility to free myself or your responsibility to free me? Freedom from fear is even worse. How are we to eradicate that? You might be afraid regardless of what we do or don’t do. Freedoms from are a slippery slope.
And some people still worship FDR, likewise with Stalin.
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I have long said that the one mistake in the Constitution was when they added the Bill of Rights, they forgot the Bill of Responsibilities.
Well, we should have the freedom to rebel if they try that stuff.
Great post Arahant. Love that book – know your why was my take away. I echo your sentiment – freedom without boundaries, what I see as natural law and should be outside one’s self, is anarchy.
That’s the answer! Bus the caravan to the Canadian border and hire a bunch of taxis to shuttle those poor, unfortunate souls to Quebec. Free health care! Free education! And certainly it has to be easier to learn French, another romance language, for a Spanish speaker, than it is to learn to speak English. Those caravan folks simply have the wrong destination in mind.
Until Canada builds a wall.
I wish I could have a nice chat with Viktor Frankl. (As an aside, he passed away within the same week Lady Diana and Mother Theresa passed away. For a moment there, I thought the world might be ending! :-)
Things have changed a great deal since World War II. At the moment, we are victims of our own medical success.
An answer to the Why am I here? question has been offered and accepted as valid. “I’m not here for any reason. I didn’t ask to be here. This was your [parent and/or G-d and/or Mother Evolution] idea. Not mine. If you want me to stay, you’ll have to take care of me. Otherwise, I’m outta here. I don’t owe anybody anything.”
I think Jordan Peterson is seeing the same thing I am. I think that’s why he is working so hard to talk to people. He’s trying to draw a thread from the past to today, to explain our existence to ourselves. To help people see they are part of something bigger than themselves.
At the moment, people see their own existence as a burden, not a gift. I don’t see any way to turn that around.
Victor Frankl once came to my grad school to receive an award and give a talk. I remember him speaking admiringly of America. He said he loves the Statue of Liberty, but he wishes he could put a Statue of Responsibility on the west coast. :)
Thank you, Arahant, for posting the clip of the Viktor Frankl interview. I’ve never heard him speak before.
No. Licentiousness is younger and hotter. They don’t look the same. That’s the problem.
Don’t let her fool you. She has a plastic surgeon on call. She was born first.