What is freedom in modern society?

For millennia, since the prohibitions, power and morals have appeared, there is the concept of freedom. Some people define it as the absence of the above factors. Others as a person's power over their actions provided that they do not harm other people. Still others believe that freedom is a subjective subject and depends on the aspirations of each individual person.

So what is freedom? Let's try to understand.

Freedom in philosophy is defined as the state of the subject, in which he can independently determine his own way of life, his goals, opinions and means. That is, in fact, this concept gathers together all the judgments given above. The freedom of each person depends on the degree of acceptance of it as a living value for them. That is why we see so many different approaches to its understanding and self-realization. And that's why all people differently understand what freedom is.

It is accepted to distinguish between two freedoms: positive and negative. The second presupposes the independence of the individual from any external or internal manifestations that interfere with its realization. Receiving it is possible by eliminating them. Positive freedom is achieved through the spiritual development of man and the achievement of inner harmony. Some philosophers believe that it is impossible to achieve this freedom without going through the desire for the negative. This division does not at all contradict the integrity of the concept. On the contrary, it helps to broaden our understanding of what freedom is.

Freedom of the person is directly connected with freedom of creativity, as the second is a natural consequence and expression of the first. Therefore, many writers and artists who did not have the opportunity at the time to create their own works because of prohibitions of censorship, were tuned against the authorities. But we should distinguish between the freedom of expression and not confuse it with the freedom of manifestations of aggression. The ban on the latter is not a restriction on the person. On the contrary, it was created to protect its freedom. Such prohibitions will exist until they pass into the human consciousness as a natural necessity.

Nowadays people are increasingly looking for freedom not from external factors, but within themselves. Modern man began to understand in a new way what freedom is. And he tries to achieve it through inner harmony, self-determination and expression in the spheres available to him. This view is close to the concept of positive freedom, but it also contains negative echoes in itself. It was formed in connection with the weakening of public prohibitions. Therefore, now the inner freedom comes to the fore - reaching the integrity of the personality and the possibility of its expression.

So, almost every generation forms a new look at what freedom is. And you can not say that one of them is wrong. After all, every person is free to give his own answer to this question and give this word a meaning close to it. For someone, freedom is an opportunity to express one's opinion, for someone - the absence of a ban on creativity, for someone - harmony with the outside world ... But in any case, it plays an important role for each individual and society in Whole.