What Does It Mean to Be Free? | 5-Minute Video | PragerU
What does it mean to be free? When Professor of Philosophy @SeanMcDowell poses this question to his students, they typically respond: “Freedom means doing whatever you want as long as you don’t hurt anyone.” But is it really as simple as that? Or is this question more complex and consequential than you might think?
📲 Watch our content ad-free on our app: https://prageru.onelink.me/3bas/vgyxvm79
Donate to PragerU: https://l.prageru.com/4jiAT85
Follow PragerU:
Instagram ➡️ (https://www.instagram.com/prageru/)
X ➡️ (https://twitter.com/prageru)
Facebook ➡️ (https://www.facebook.com/prageru/)
TikTok ➡️ (https://www.tiktok.com/@prageru)
Transcript:
What Does It Mean to Be Free
Presented by Sean McDowell
What does it mean to be free?
When I pose this question to my students, here’s the answer I typically get: “Freedom means doing whatever you want.” Sometimes they’ll add “as long you don’t hurt anyone else.”
If we look closely at this answer, we will see that this is not freedom at all. Doing whatever you want — even if you don’t hurt someone else — virtually guarantees that you won’t be free. It’s much more likely that you’ll be imprisoned, either by your own desires or someone else’s.
It doesn’t take more than a little reflection to realize that doing whatever you want is a bad way to live. What happens if you eat everything you want? You’ll get sick, become overweight, and lack energy to do the things that a healthy person can do. That makes you less free.
What about the twenty-something who lives at home and plays video games all day? That might be fun for a while, but for the long term? He’s totally dependent on his parents. He has no freedom. He lacks real meaning and the sense of purpose that comes from work and ambition. And he’s not exactly making himself a compelling candidate for the opposite sex.
One day, he wakes up and he’s 30. Yeah, maybe he worked a few jobs here and there, but there’s no family, no career, no sacrifice for a greater purpose. I’ve seen this scenario play out. And so have you.
It’s not pretty.
And is freedom really living without boundaries?
Which is better? Banging on piano keys or following an instructor who teaches you to play the piano correctly? The answer is obvious. Small children bang on keys without restraint. Making music requires discipline.
We can apply this across all of life. Consider the relationship between a husband and wife. They choose to restrict their romantic affections to one another. This provides emotional security for them and their children. In this kind of environment, everyone can operate with a greater sense of freedom because there’s security, trust, and belonging.
This idea — that true freedom is only possible within a framework of rules — goes way back. It’s a major theme of the Bible. You can make a case that it begins with the Bible.
It’s easy to forget that in the Exodus narrative God liberated the Israelites from Egypt not so that they could do whatever they wanted, but so that they would be free to worship Him, something they could not do as Pharaoh’s slaves. Then, in the Sinai desert, He gave them Ten Commandments. What are those commandments? They are a series of restraints, the last five stated in the negative – do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not covet.
Can you imagine what our society would be like if we all followed these simple “do nots”?
Well, to paraphrase my friend Dennis Prager, we’d live in a far better world. Nobody would have to lock their doors. Nobody would have to worry about the faithfulness of their spouse or being the victim of false testimony.
It’s within these restraints that we experience real freedom because, as we’ve seen, unrestrained human beings are not free. They’re prisoners of their own desires.
Let’s take this one step further and consider another question. What’s so great about being free?
The answer, I would suggest, is found — again — in the Bible.
…access the full transcript here 👉 https://l.prageru.com/4gpwpvQ
source
Hey Sean and Dennis, I want to remind you both that when you're feeling sad, when you feel like you don't have any purpose in life, you can always sacrifice five minutes of your day and suck these nuts.
This is spot on & pinpoints a serious issue present in Western culture.
Unrestrained Freedom -> / = No freedom.
True freedom is freedom from sin and fulfillment in the infinite of the Divine.
I consider freedom the ability to speak out and poke fun at frivolous institutions.
Can I use the n weird
Very good! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Freedom, to me, is not having someone else control you.
Being able to make your own decisions of right and wrong that coincide with those already established.
What Does It Mean to Be Free?
~~~ 'Freedom' is the extent of your delusion, the length of your chain.
'Freedom' is found in the delusion/belief in 'free-will/choice', a pathological God Complex!
Not even God has 'free-will/choice'!
True 'freedom' is freedom FROM the (delusional) belief in freedom!
https://youtu.be/yo1W4N8zaWM?si=U6T-NaSoM2pEUPds
Free to get shot wherever you go in this country
What does it mean to be free? Being able to speak ill of the dead without repercussions, especially if the dead spoke ill of anyone who wasn't a cis white male Christian bigot while being alive.
I've lived life without God . thought I was free. I now fully live life with God and His guidelines and realize what TRUE freedom really is.
We are not free because we are not the masters of our thoughts, our emotions, and our lives. Our hidden layers of fears, frustrations, demands, anger, and envy deep inside our minds govern us. We usually don't realise it and we don't admit it, but it's our human condition. But underneath all these layers, there is a 'promised land' that is totally free. It's the source of our joy, our peace and our love. It's possible to find it, to reach it, to reconnect with it, but you have to cross the desert to free yourself from all these layers one by one. It's a long journey. Our entire life happens inside us. It's the way we receive every event. The way we conceive them. The way we think, feel, and react. It's all inside us. It would be pretty much the same if you were just dreaming your life. That is why you and you only can free yourself…from yourself.
PragerU is blatantly teaching American children factually incorrect information on climate change, slavery and racism, immigration, and the history of fascism. PragerU teaches racism, sexism and anti-LGBT politics.
That's a great example why the whole idea of freedom is a fake.
you are right true freedom isn't doing what you want
Freedom is to be free to choose what we want – but reality is that we are not free to want what we ought.
Real freedom is to want the right thing and to have the power to do it.
"Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. […] If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."
~Jesus (John 8:34-36)
No way Sean McDowell on PragerU!
I have no idea . I have been paying out the ass for 50 years and nothing is free. You need permits for everything and I have never known what is free.
Freedom is knowing your rights have corresponding obligations, and insist the same on people around you. Because you may like it or not, you are your brother's keeper.
Freedom is to be in harmony with the rules. Freedom is the ability to do what I want when I want based on what I SHOULD do . There is always responsibility and order tied to freedom
One view of freedom is having the space to maximize your potential, as God has given it to you. Maximizing your potential never happens without discipline, and discipline means learning how to use the constraints of reality, morality and of society, so as to take maximal advantage of your potential knowledge and skills.
Good morning slaves! It's time to get to your 9-5 that will never afford you a house! 👏🎉
Thumbs down on this..i've been working SINCE EIGHTH GRADE and did the Hobbies you call bad.
Honored to partner with PragerU for this video. Let us know what you think!