What Does It Mean To Be Free

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The idea that a person is free is at the very heart of all existential teachings and beliefs. A great part of existentialist belief is that a person's freedom is actually a burden on their lives. I disagree with the statement that freedom is a burden. The existentialist belief that being free is a burden is false because being free is what makes us human. An individual is free to make any decision that they want and they alone are responsible for the outcome. The freedom that we as humans possess is all that’s truly ours. From the aspect that freedom is a burden, an existentialist can make the clear point that freedom isn’t a positive attribute to living a “human” existence. Our freedom is all we genuinely have in life; the idea of humans having a purpose or destiny is false. The waning prosperity that humans can enjoy from believing they have purpose is detrimental to the fact that their freedom is a burden. Humans have no “meaning”, “unlike an egg timer that’s created for the purpose of cooking an egg, human beings have no particular purpose”. So we are free to do what is pleasing, and this is what can bring us happiness, freeing us from our burdens. The true burden that people are …show more content…

Happiness is important for fully enjoying freedom. The French artists of Café Guerbois thought that they were unhappy. They were poor, struggling, and most importantly not in the Salon. Likewise, while attending Brown University, Caroline Sachs, felt that she was unhappy and dissatisfied compared to her other classmates. She was learning what she loved, yet she still wasn’t happy. If she was going to compare herself, if she was going to compete she had to be successful. At its very essence the idea of being happy and fulfilled is in direct competition with not having a purpose and that our freedom is a burden. To take full advantage of the freedom we have and to not be burdened we must seek and achieve

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