WHAT IS FREEDOM?? ARE WE FREE AFTER ALL?

~ Freedom ~

free adjective - 1. able to act or be done as one wishes; not under the control of another.
-dom suffix - 1. forming nouns denoting a state or condition.  "freedom"

Being free is apparently to declare oneself free, autonomous and take the consequences of what we have decided, but it is necessary to have the courage to be free to follow a certain path.

However no one enjoys absolute freedom in the sense of being able to completely disregard all norms and values. 

Not to mention that freedom does not only include the choice of one or another action but also extends to the thoughts and emotions: we have a certain margin to choose what to think or what to feel.

To be free is to assume that our decision is associated with a risk that can have consequences on one side or the other. This risk exists because most of the time we are not the only creators of reality, there are other factors that influence it. Other people, for example.

On the other hand, stuck to the concept of provision and choice there is the responsibility emanating from this privilege. So, somehow, every choice is associated with a prediction of consequences, an estimate of losses and benefits.

Being free means taking risks, and freedom requires that we carry the weight of our decisions. With its paradoxes and its benefits, freedom is one of our great privileges.

Without a doubt, most of us have a good margin to do and undo at will, to decide and to develop in some way. But deep down we are so dependent (due to our social nature), as autonomous.

Furthermore, for most people, being free is doing what everyone else wants; if it's okay or bad, that's not what matters.

Freedom differs from free will by the fact that, while the former has its expression in the external world, the latter has it within the individual.

Freedom of worship, of speech, of commerce, such as that of a political, social or economic character, are products of a manifestation that transcends the internal forum of man. This freedom is required by a logical necessity of human coexistence and is, at the same time, indispensable for the faculties of the individual to find a field more conducive to their development and function. To condemn him to endure an oppression that deprives him of his freedom is to subject him to virtual brutality.

A person may be deprived of his freedom, not being allowed to move at will; but free will will continue to work inwardly, taking into account that no one can stop the activity of thoughts within your mind.

Nevertheless, free will, that is, the exercise of reason in direct correspondence with the other faculties of the mental system, can be reduced to the minimum and even annulled, if man is deprived, from childhood, of the free use of his functions, his intelligence, being forced to close his mind to all useful reflection. Consequently, the atrophy of his faculties and the weakening of reason come to pass until it is annulled.

Are we free after all ?