Fill in the Blank

[AllbutKnowing]

Hey... I'm a newbie Have a bit of a question for ya..

The philosophy of liberty is based on the principle of [fill in your answer here.]

Thanks!

 

[Philosoft]

Is there supposed to be a 'correct answer'?

Off the top, I would say something like, "self-governance."

 

[SolomonVII]

Hey... I'm a newbie Have a bit of a question for ya..

The philosophy of liberty is based on the principle of rights of the individual

Thanks!

 

[Rage against the machine]

Hey... I'm a newbie Have a bit of a question for ya..

The philosophy of liberty is based on the principle of [fill in your answer here.]

Thanks!

Is based on the principle of your honored faith of god.

 

[Dyrwen]

The philosophy of liberty is based on the principle of keeping the rights of all protected no matter the economic downfall, appearance of weakness, or passion of beliefs.

Liberty is a thing fought for and died for, but rarely defined. It's used too often as a cliche for what one imagines one to have, but if you've got it, you'd have little reason to repeat it.

 

[Volos]

Originally posted by :

AllbutKnowing

The philosophy of liberty is based on the principle of [fill in your answer here.]

Civil rights and civil responsibility.



A country that discriminates has no liberty for anyone. And freedom without responsibility leads to anarchy.

 

[MediocrityInAction]

The philosophy of liberty is based on the principle of enlightened self-interest.

 

[Fiendishjester]

The philosophy of liberty is based on the principle of practice.

 

[Hydra009]

The philosophy of liberty is based on the principle of pizza (and sometimes, cheese doodles). j/k

 

[midnight star]

The philosophy of liberty is based upon the protection of the individual

 

[jon1101]

Hey... I'm a newbie Have a bit of a question for ya..

The philosophy of liberty is based on the principle of [fill in your answer here.]

Thanks!

It depends. Equality, natural law, or, as MediocrityInAction said, enlightened self-interest are all possible answers depending on the way one prefers to argue for liberty. I think John Stuart Mill tends to invoke Utilitarianism when defending liberty. Did you have a specific answer in mind?

Liberty is a thing fought for and died for, but rarely defined.

I like Bastiat's definition of liberty:

In short, is not liberty the freedom of every person to make full use of his faculties, so long as he does not harm other persons while doing so?

-Jon

 

[Jeremiah the Bullfrog]

The philosophy of liberty is based on the protection of the rights of the individual.

 

[Magisterium]

Well, first of all, "the philosophy of liberty" implies that there is only one or that there is one in particular that you are referring to. Is this the case, or are you referring to the idea of liberty itself?

For now, I'll address it as though you mean the idea behind the word liberty itself. Liberty is loosly defined as the ability to excercise one's will.

so to place it back into your own words:
"The philosophy of liberty is based on the principle of "ability to exercise one will."

That said, liberty becomes licence when it is excercised without regard for the liberty of others. An example of this would be the "liberty" to park you car across four spaces because you willed it. This is an excercise of freedom (or liberty) which infringes the liberties of others.

Unfortunately, other such infingements are not always so obvious. particularly when the victim or victims are unable to make their plight known.

 

[Davebuck]

Is based on the principle of your honored faith of god.

why 'honored' faith of god? why not just god?

 

[Davebuck]

Hey... I'm a newbie Have a bit of a question for ya..

The philosophy of liberty is based on the principle of human rights (life, liberty and pursuit of happiness)

Thanks!

To obtain the liberty, you have to preserve and protect these rights as a society. That means not trampling the rights of others as you exercise your own.

 

[SolomonVII]

Liberty is also contingent on security. For example, if to preserve one's freedom, one has to live in a gated community, travel in an armored car, whisk their children out of a private school into the armored car, and back home to their gated community- as is becoming the norm in Brazil, for example,- the concept of liberty becomes hollow.
Security in turn can only come as the result of social justice, and an uncorrupted security force.
If the theoretical underpinnings of the concept of liberty are the inalienable rights of an individual to purse his own happiness, in a practical sense, liberty is not possible outside a society in which a sense of the inherent goodness of justice and honesty have not been internalized. If such value are not believed in, on both the individual and the societal level, no amount of subsequent legislation could ever force a people to believe.
It is a relatively simple task to educate people to believe in their own rights. If the ideals of responsibility have not permeated to the core of the societies value system, practical liberty in such a society is an almost impossible goal.

 

[Jeremiah the Bullfrog]

Start with the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. You have to teach the individual how to protect his(or her) liberty. If people can stand up for their own rights, and protect the rights of others, and know that others have the capabilities to protect each others rights, then one is much less likely to infringe on the rights of others. Two of the most important freedoms you can give people are the freedom to protect themselves and the freedom to speak their mind.