Freedom is a necessity for having a meaningful and fulfilling existence. We are psychologically wired with a predisposition for autonomy. We derive self-esteem and self-worth from what we can accomplish and the skills and attributes we possess. It is important that we are able to apply our abilities in the manner we see fit. Exerting effort towards a goal and achieving that goal through means of our choosing is a type of freedom essential to our human and spiritual nature. This is especially true when it comes to our most essential needs like food, water, shelter, and clothing. To not be in charge of or have direct influence over these things, as an individual or part of a community, means we are dependent on whoever provides them, which is a source of anxiety, helplessness, and disempowerment. We can already begin to see how the eroding of autonomy creates conditions that are detrimental to our well-being. As we become less free, confident, and capable, we become more prone to unhappiness, feelings of worthlessness and purposelessness, lethargy, depression, and anxiety. It is not an accidental correlation that mental health issues have become so prevalent as our ability to be autonomous human beings capable of providing for our own existential needs has gradually been stripped away and replaced with dependency on technology, corporations, government, and other specialized segments of society. It is a truth we must acknowledge that technological progress has left us with more superficial choices but less existential empowerment and autonomy in many ways. So, from this perspective, we can see that freedom is directly related to how dependent we are on sources outside ourselves and our immediate environment for the choices and decisions we make over our needs.
The Necessity of Human Freedom & Autonomy
The Necessity of Human Freedom & Autonomy
The Necessity of Human Freedom & Autonomy
Freedom is a necessity for having a meaningful and fulfilling existence. We are psychologically wired with a predisposition for autonomy. We derive self-esteem and self-worth from what we can accomplish and the skills and attributes we possess. It is important that we are able to apply our abilities in the manner we see fit. Exerting effort towards a goal and achieving that goal through means of our choosing is a type of freedom essential to our human and spiritual nature. This is especially true when it comes to our most essential needs like food, water, shelter, and clothing. To not be in charge of or have direct influence over these things, as an individual or part of a community, means we are dependent on whoever provides them, which is a source of anxiety, helplessness, and disempowerment. We can already begin to see how the eroding of autonomy creates conditions that are detrimental to our well-being. As we become less free, confident, and capable, we become more prone to unhappiness, feelings of worthlessness and purposelessness, lethargy, depression, and anxiety. It is not an accidental correlation that mental health issues have become so prevalent as our ability to be autonomous human beings capable of providing for our own existential needs has gradually been stripped away and replaced with dependency on technology, corporations, government, and other specialized segments of society. It is a truth we must acknowledge that technological progress has left us with more superficial choices but less existential empowerment and autonomy in many ways. So, from this perspective, we can see that freedom is directly related to how dependent we are on sources outside ourselves and our immediate environment for the choices and decisions we make over our needs.