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Freedom means self-determination, autonomy, and spontaneity of a rational subject, the absence of submissiveness and servility. The concept of freedom may be conceived as an abstract and Normative value of human Action , or as a concrete experience of humans. The two perspectives can overlap, leading to mistakes regarding categories. Thus, different meanings of the word must be distinguished. Freedom can mean an attribute of man and his will. Freedom can mean the condition for rights enabled by Natural or Positive Law , but also of duty. However, an action is a personal experience, so carrying out a deliberate action cannot be summed up to rights and duties. These two levels of human existence - an attribute of man or the condition for enabled rights - are not necessarily compatible. One can establish that judicial liberties are in place, but Reality (in our actions) and Essence (in our conception) of our liberty are missing. The existence of judicial law protecting freedom can be the object of a social and political investigation, while the metaphysical foundation of freedom and the second level mentioned above are more closely related to the philosophical question of freedom. See Also: Liberty IN PHILOSOPHY AND HISTORY Freedom can mean an absence of external restraints; in this case it signifies the opposite of slavery. The achievement of this form of freedom depends upon the environment; if I am in jail or even limited by a lack of resources, I am not free to do all that I might wish to do. Even natural laws restrict this form of freedom; no one is free to fly without wings (though we may or may not be free to attempt to do so). Freedom can also signify mastery over one's inner life. In a play by 's poem echoes this experience: :Stone walls do not a prison make :Nor iron bars a cage :Minds innocent and quiet take :That for an hermitage Notable 20th Century individuals who have exemplified this form of freedom include Nelson Mandela , Rabbi Leo Baeck , Gandhi , and Václav Havel . The French Philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau asserted that the condition of freedom was inherent to humanity, an inevitable facet of the possession of a soul and sapience, with the implication that all social interactions subsequent to birth imply a loss of freedom, voluntarily or involuntarily. Freedom has often been used a rallying cry for Revolution or Rebellion . For instance, the Bible records the story of Moses leading his people out of slavery, and into freedom. In his famous " I Have A Dream " speech Martin Luther King, Jr. quoted an old spiritual song sung by black American slaves: "''Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty we are free at last!''" The '' Ama-gi '', a Sumerian cuneiform word, is the earliest known written symbol representing the idea of freedom. USAGE , a personification of Liberty.]]
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