‘How Do I Know I’m Truly Free?’ What’s Your Answer?

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The last glowing embers of July Fourth fireworks float gently down from soaring heights. Satisfied with your annual exhaustion of “oohs” and “aahs,” you lean back to relax comfortably in your chair. Friendly conversation renews and life goes on.

But do you ever wonder about what went into that independence you so enthusiastically celebrate? What are its vital elements? More importantly, how do you know those ingredients haven’t passed their expiration date?

It begins with freedom. Or does it begin with liberty?

Thomas Jefferson doesn’t even use the word “freedom” in his Declaration of Independence. He does refer to “Free and Independent States” twice and to “free people” once. Of course, the one time he uses the word “liberty,” Jefferson gives it top billing in his phrase “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

This latter triumvirate of terms goes back to classic times (see “How to Live the Good Life with No Regrets,” Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel, August 25, 2022). Aristotle said the Continue Reading “‘How Do I Know I’m Truly Free?’ What’s Your Answer?”

How Far Do Private Property Rights Go?

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Photo by J. Amill Santiago on UnsplashMany see Thomas Jefferson’s iconic “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” as having derived directly from Aristotle’s “Life, Liberty, and Eudaimonia.” For those of you not familiar with Greek, eudaimonia literally translates to the state or condition of “good spirit.” It represents the combination of the eu (meaning good) with daimon (meaning spirit).

Aristotle used the term in his Nicomachean Ethics, his tome devoted to the “science of happiness.” As a result, we commonly equate eudaimonia with happiness. Aristotle was all about living the good life, and by “good life” Aristotle alludes to a morality of higher Continue Reading “How Far Do Private Property Rights Go?”

How To Declare Independence And Start Pursuing Your Happiness

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Many folks think Thomas Jefferson “borrowed” the phrase “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” from John Locke. The 17th Century British philosopher and physician famously wrote, in the unsigned Second Treatise Concerning Civil Government, that government exists to protect one’s life, liberty, and property. Sounds awfully similar to the words used by our Founding Father nearly ninety years later.

Significantly, Locke’s focus on personal “property” breaks from the sense of Thomas Hobbes. In his 1651 treatise Leviathan, Hobbes paints a sovereign-centric ideal. In this “social contract,” citizens cede personal freedoms to the ruler in exchange for protection. Without such protection, the contract is invalidated.

Bear in mind, Hobbes wrote this while in exile during the English Civil War between the Parliamentarians and the Royalists. He rejected Aristotle’s premise that man is driven by Continue Reading “How To Declare Independence And Start Pursuing Your Happiness”

How to Live the Good Life with No Regrets

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“Why is This Important to You?”

Socrates believed “the unexamined life is not worth living.” He may not have coined the phrase “know thyself,” but he’s famous for traipsing the streets of Athens examining lives by nagging prominent people until he proved they did not “know thineselfs.”

So effective was he the good city-state of democracy voted to put him to death. Socrates, despite his friends’ wishes, readily agreed to drink the hemlock and thus first came into usage the phrase “good career move.”

But before he died, Socrates perfected a method that would become his lasting legacy. Used today anywhere from the courtroom, to the classroom, to the psychologist’s couch, we call it the “Socratic Method” (which just shows you how terribly dull and unimaginative philosophers can be at times).

In a nutshell, here’s how it works. Come up with a question or hypothesis and keep asking annoying questions (often the same one or of the same form) until you’ve eliminated all Continue Reading “How to Live the Good Life with No Regrets”

Would You Rather Experience Joy or Satisfaction?

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Now that you’ve exploded your stomach celebrating Thanksgiving, here’s something that will explode your mind.

Don’t be afraid. This is a good thing, for what grows back will be stronger. You’ll be stronger. There’s a reason for this. After you discombobulate your brain, things settle in a way that reveals greater understanding about you and about life in general.

Let’s start with a couple of simple definitions.

Definition #1: Joy. According to Merriam-Webster, joy is defined as “the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires.” It is akin to such words as “delight,” “gaiety,” and “bliss.”

Definition #2: Satisfaction. Merriam-Webster defines satisfaction as a “fulfillment of a need or want.” It is reflected in words like “contentment” and “gratification.”

These two definitions sound very familiar, don’t they?Continue Reading “Would You Rather Experience Joy or Satisfaction?”

American Egalitarianism

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[This Commentary originally appeared in the October 25, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

CarosaCommentaryNewLogo_259Is America equal?

We immediately respond with a resounding “Yes!” As youngsters, we begin learning the lessons of the American saga. A free and open democracy – like that in the United States – implies and demands a society of equals. Our founding fathers’ forged the idea of “one man, one vote.” (Most of us forgive our ancestors, who took nearly 150 years to add “one woman, one vote” to our forbears’ edict.)

Yet, can a society in which less than 1 percent of the population owns more than 20Continue Reading “American Egalitarianism”

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