Freedom, Responsibility, and the Common Good

Notion of Freedom

What defines freedom is the power to direct and dominate one's actions, the ability to set a goal and head toward it. It is more about self-control than governing others' actions. In the free act, two higher faculties of the soul come into play: intelligence and will. The will chooses what has previously been known by intelligence. To do so, before deliberately choosing, the mind considers various possibilities, with their different advantages and disadvantages. The decision is the result of that mental consideration of possibilities. I decide when I choose one of the possibilities discussed. It is not the possibility that forces me to take it; rather, I am the one who makes it happen.

To be human is to be free. There is physical freedom, which is equivalent to freedom of movement: to come and go, in or out, up or down, to do this or that. But the root of freedom is in the will, and voluntary action is, above all, an inner decision.

Each person chooses their own path, shapes it with personal nuances, and carries it out with the same freedom with which it was conceived. Thus, individuals progress and create their history.

Being free is not being independent. A human limitation is that every choice involves a renunciation.

Freedom and Responsibility

Every free act is attributable. Therefore, the subject who performs it must answer for it. The acts belong to the agent because without their will, they would not have occurred. And since the agent chooses the purpose of their acts, they are best placed to give explanations for them. Freedom and responsibility are two parallel and inseparable concepts. It is often said that the Statue of Liberty is missing its counterpart, the Statue of Responsibility. Social responsibilities also rely heavily on the circumstances.

Feeling responsible, perhaps to a great unseen witness or one's own conscience, is what compels individuals to find specific and personal meaning in their lives.

Common Good

Isolated human existence is impossible. Thus, society exists as a group of people united by a common goal: mutual aid. As we must all work towards that purpose, it can be called the common good. The first conquest of a society is material welfare. Peoples have fought peacefully or dramatically throughout history to secure food, clothing, and housing. The second element is peace. Not just individual peace, but social peace. It is a spontaneous result of people pursuing a common interest. Because without peace, the first thing to go is...