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Single Idea 9231

[filed under theme 25. Social Practice / A. Freedoms / 5. Freedom of lifestyle ]

Full Idea

What counts as far as freedom goes is not causal independence, but autonomy. It is a matter of whether we are active rather than passive in our motives and choices, whether those are what we really want, and not alien to us.

Gist of Idea

Freedom needs autonomy (rather than causal independence) - embracing our own desires and choices

Source

Harry G. Frankfurt (The Reasons of Love [2005], 1.8)

Book Ref

Frankfurt,Harry G.: 'The Reasons of Love' [Princeton 2006], p.20

A Reaction

This is why setting your own targets is excellent, but having targets set for you by authorities is pernicious. These kind of principles need to be clear before any plausible theory of liberalism can be developed.

The 16 ideas from 'The Reasons of Love'

9232 It is by caring about things that we infuse the world with importance [Frankfurt]
9233 Our criteria for evaluating how to live offer an answer to the problem [Frankfurt]
9234 If you don't care about at least one thing, you can't find reasons to care about anything [Frankfurt]
9227 We might not choose a very moral life, if the character or constitution was deficient [Frankfurt]
9229 What is worthwhile for its own sake alone may be worth very little [Frankfurt]
9228 Ranking order of desires reveals nothing, because none of them may be considered important [Frankfurt]
9230 People want to fulfill their desires, but also for their desires to be sustained [Frankfurt]
9231 Freedom needs autonomy (rather than causal independence) - embracing our own desires and choices [Frankfurt]
9240 Love creates a necessity concerning what to care about [Frankfurt]
9241 Loving oneself is not a failing, but is essential to a successful life [Frankfurt]
9235 Rather than loving things because we value them, I think we value things because we love them [Frankfurt]
9236 Love can be cool, and it may not involve liking its object [Frankfurt]
9237 The paradigm case of pure love is not romantic, but that between parents and infants [Frankfurt]
9238 Morality isn't based on reason; moral indignation is quite unlike disapproval of irrationality [Frankfurt]
9239 I value my children for their sake, but I also value my love for them for its own sake [Frankfurt]
9300 Boredom is serious, not just uncomfortable; it threatens our psychic survival [Frankfurt]