What is freedom? I do not know if I am sure of what freedom is yet. I believe that I have freedom, but am I really free? Freedom is one of the most important things a person can have. But the question is even though we think we are free, do we really have freedom? And if we do not have any freedom at all, if things are predetermined, then how can we be held responsible for our actions? For example, we are not held accountable for obeying the laws of gravity. Freedom generally means the absence of all unreasonable restraint. But isn't this a little bit general?
             In his book on being free, Frithjof Bergmann outlined what he called our "schizophrenic view of freedom". The first side of this view is that freedom is wonderful. I mean freedom is what makes America the place everyone wants to be. This view says not only are we free but we aspire to be free, so there is a small dilemma. The second view, is that freedom is dreadful. It is scary to make decisions that will affect your whole life. Such as getting married, selecting a college and so on. Some people might feel relieved that "fate" steps in to make this choice for them. Jean-Paul Sartre and Erich Fromm have both said that we all try to escape from freedom; we fall into what Sartre calls Bad Faith. In the book, The Big Questions, they give an example of not having freedom. If we were to live in a small village where everyone is born into a role, choices are already made for the people of the village, so everyone knows his or her identity. So what does freedom mean to these people?
             There are two types of freedom. There is negative freedom which is freedom from things. For example people seek freedom from an oppressive government. It has a negative connotation. Even though it may seem nice to have freedom from a job, where is money going to come from now, you had to get fired to be "free", and what are you free to do? Sit around. The second ki...