230520 What I learned in my studies this morning 3

No one my servant.

Let all of us live in peace. 

No one my master.

Thoughts:

Freedoooommmmm! (Yes, it leads where you think it leads.)

All the Meditations below touch on it.

In Stoic thought, freedom seems a byproduct of approach, never a goal. It's a freedom of will, unconcerned, deliberately unconcerned, with freedom in the political or economic realms. And it's the only true freedom we'll ever have.

But, to risk unquiet, to put my tranquility in peril, I think often on the nature of political freedom.

No masters. No slaves. To put it succinctly.

I believe all peaceful interactions must be voluntary to be moral. I do not believe in any authority not freely given by those who would obey. No one, literally, has the right to command and expect to be obeyed simply because they claim authority.

Now maybe their's is a good option, one we might willingly chose to accept. Fine. Yippee! We have cooperation. That's awesome. I love working with you.

But do not believe I have ceded you authority over me or mine unless such agreement is explicit, freely offered, and freely accepted.

Nor can I promise for another, unless they gave me such power or they are my responsibility. Even then, if they disagreed, chances are they'd be allowed to follow their own path, so long as it is peaceful.

I would be bound by all rules I explicitly agreed to. As would others.

All have a right to delegate their rights to others (e.g. giving a security service the right to defend your life, your dependents, and your property from aggression, by force if necessary).

Today's Meditation:

Today's Meditation II:

Today's Meditation III:

Today's Meditation IV: