Freedom?

"Alas! Why does man boast of sensibilities superior to those apparent in the brute? --it only renders them more necessary beings. If our impulses were confined to hunger, thirst, and desire, we might be nearly free; but now we are moved by every wind that blows, and a chance word or scene that that word may convey to us." -Frankenstein, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

     Hello folks! Well, this is me finishing a post I started several days ago. I'm also doing it at a time when I am slightly sleep deprived. Usually, I'd put this off 'til later. However, I feel like that if I don't produce something of effort and worth before midnight then my weekend has been a total waste of, well, everything. That being said, let us discuss the above quote from whom many the Grandmother of Science Fiction.

     Why would beasts be considered free? It seems more natural to think that they are the ones chained. They are the ones unable rise above basic instincts and desires. It is homo sapiens, not any other creature, that decided to begin stocking up on food and build the complex civilizations that we have. Are we not free to perform higher level thinking? To create and compare and analyze and argue?

     Or has our freedom simply wrought newer chains?

     As with many things, perhaps the answer lies in that grey category of Yes&No. Yes, we are free of our basic instinct, but it seems that by having a broader horizon we open ourselves to be influenced more. We become subject to such a thing as sentimentality. We begin to show emotion and to interact with our emotions, but is it correct to say we are "necessary beings" because of it?

    What are your thoughts?

    As for me, I believe that it is all in how look at it. A simple man or woman may consider himself or herself the intellectual's/artist's/whatever-other-synonyms's better because his or her life is, well, simple. They aren't necessarily moved by an essay or poem or any other piece of art. They just may have no interest in it. Vice-versa, the intellectual/artist/whatever-other-synonyms might consider his or herself the better of the simple person because they have 'risen above' the basic necessities of existence and are free to have such experiences. It seems as if it is all in perspective.

(Finished before 12:00! [Actually, I didn't. I forgot to give it a proper title.])

You should probably keep this post at hand. I have a feeling it will be spurring other posts, even if only to comment on the actual post and not the content.

Thanks for reading! Once again, I implore you to leave a comment! Start a discussion!