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| Why is freedom a right?; Philosophically not historically | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jan 16 2008, 01:54 PM (444 Views) | |
| Dandandat | Jan 16 2008, 01:54 PM Post #1 |
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Time to put something here
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Im not asking how your individual country or ethic group or ect won its freedom. Or where the first democracy and thoughts of freedom came to mind. I’m asking why is freedom a right today, yesterday and tomorrow. |
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| Fesarius | Jan 16 2008, 02:04 PM Post #2 |
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Admiral
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^^^ Great question. For my own part, I don't believe that freedom is a 'right,' any more than I believe people have a 'right' to be happy. That's really all I'd like to say on the subject, however.
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| ImpulseEngine | Jan 16 2008, 03:21 PM Post #3 |
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Admiral
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In my view and philosophically speaking, it isn't a right in any universal and objective sense. What makes it a "right" is by societal definition. |
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| Dandandat | Jan 16 2008, 04:09 PM Post #4 |
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Time to put something here
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^^^^^ So Thomas Jefferson was wrong when he wrote.
Liberty, is not an unalienable right after all and that it is not self-evident? |
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| Dandandat | Jan 16 2008, 04:10 PM Post #5 |
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Time to put something here
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How about life? Is that a right? |
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| HistoryDude | Jan 16 2008, 04:49 PM Post #6 |
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Shaken, not stirred...
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I believe Jefferson is right in the Declaration of Independence, though in his other writings (and those of men who influenced him like Locke), it is clear that those thinkers and leaders who believe that freedom is a right also acknowledge that that right ends when it infringes upon the freedom or rights of another. As for historically, I believe freedom should have been a right all along, everywhere. However, some cultures or leaders have not believed that way, obviously. Since rights are granted by the one(s) in power, I guess the question can also be analyzed on a case-by-case basis on the functional level. Philosophically, there have been "enlightened" thinkers writing about the right to freedom even in repressive regimes or other governments that do not acknowledge full rights to everyone. |
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| ImpulseEngine | Jan 16 2008, 04:58 PM Post #7 |
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Admiral
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Since I don't believe in a Creator, I don't believe that we were endowed by certain inalienable rights by a Creator. So I would have to say yes he was wrong about that aspect. That said, Thomas Jefferson was of course right in my personal moral view to make liberty a right granted by our society. From a philosophical perspective, I'm not sure it can be argued that they are self-evident rights either. |
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| Dandandat | Jan 16 2008, 05:32 PM Post #8 |
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Time to put something here
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Why should freedom be a right? |
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| Dandandat | Jan 16 2008, 05:37 PM Post #9 |
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Time to put something here
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Jefferson was not granting any rights or calling for the state/society to grant any rights. He was making the case that the state/society must ‘acknowledge’ rights that already existed by virtue of humanities existence. |
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| ImpulseEngine | Jan 16 2008, 05:46 PM Post #10 |
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Admiral
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The Declaration of Independence legally grants those rights and, by extension, its authors do too. I understand what you are saying that they regarded them as pre-existing rights that society must acknowledge, but I would argue that the Declaration of Independence grants the legal aspect of those rights and so, legally speaking, grants those rights themselves. |
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| Dandandat | Jan 16 2008, 05:51 PM Post #11 |
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Time to put something here
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It seems to me that 'legally speaking' the Declaration of Independence bars the government from infringing on pre-existing rights. It does not grant rights. How does one grant something that already exists? |
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| ImpulseEngine | Jan 16 2008, 06:00 PM Post #12 |
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Admiral
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It was the authors' view that those rights already existed and so were already granted. However, that doesn't make it objectively or actually so. Without the Declaration of Independence to spell it out, anyone with a different opinion could just say "I disagree" and do as they please. By spelling it out on a legal document, it officially states that those rights are granted for all parties concerned regardless of their beliefs about their pre-existence. |
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| Fesarius | Jan 16 2008, 06:22 PM Post #13 |
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Admiral
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Life Is What You Make It (Hannah Montana).
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| Mel | Jan 16 2008, 06:27 PM Post #14 |
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Coffee Lover
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:lol: |
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| Fesarius | Jan 16 2008, 07:18 PM Post #15 |
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Admiral
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^^ I thought it was quite good. But seriously, from my vantage point, life is what God says it is, and it is what God describes it as in His Word, using numerous superlatives in several books. Interestingly, in Deuteronomy, we (meaning humans) are commanded to choose life (over death). I believe that it must be significant enough for God to have written it. I realize (and accept) that this presupposes a belief in God, however. Not meaning to be in any way disrespectful toward anyone-- For anyone who chooses not to believe in God, wouldn't life be anything one says it is, guided by scientific evidence and other principles one uses to govern their life? To answer the other question, I would submit that life may be a right, but only insofar as God warrants one to be privileged to have it. He can also take it away in the blink of an eye. I like how it is described in The Mark of Gideon: **************** But you see, the people of Gideon have always believed... that life is sacred, that the love of life... is the greatest gift. That is the one unshakable truth of Gideon. And this overwhelming love of life... has developed our regenerative capacity... and our great longevity. And the great misery which you now face. That is bitterly true, Captain. Nevertheless, we cannot deny the truth which shaped our evolution. We are incapable of destroying or interfering with... the creation of that which we love so deeply-- life... in every form, from fetus to developed being. It is against our tradition, against our very nature. We simply could not do it. |
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