Looking closely into this prompt topic, a question came into my mind, and that was, "How would our society be if rules didn't exist and everyone was free to do whatever they wanted?"
I think as humans, we are free in varied ways, in our personal growth, decision-making, etc. Freedom is available to everybody, but we have limited freedom to do certain things in our society due to the strict rules we must abide by; otherwise, we face legal punishment. So I will say that no one is free to do anything he or she wishes except the ones that mostly concern your personal life (for example, your choice of food today, drinks, clothes, and so on) without affecting your neighbor or society at large.You see why I said that our freedom is quite limited, and it's fine otherwise; a lot of people will oppress us and do whatever they like to us or out there causing harm to people, so it makes sense that we have rules to abide by and not have free will to do what we feel at every point in time.
Free will, I can say, is the absence of restraint. Oftentimes, we were told that we have free will to make our choices that are truly ours. But then some of our choices are often shaped by the rules and norms of society, and that's just the reality. Take for instance, I decided to pursue a fashion career, and I began, giving it my all. It's my choice; it's my free will, and no one is restricting me, of course, because my choice and will aren't affecting anyone, but the moment I decide to maybe engage in robbery, I will find myself in the four walls of the prison serving punishment for my actions.
Societies set rules to maintain order, which restricts total freedom. The rules in place are a guide for humans to know the dos and don'ts and know the limits of their freedom for the good of everyone. Even with the set rules in our society, a lot of people still break them, knowing fully well that doing such attracts punishment. Now imagine if there weren't any rules in the first place; of course we wouldn't be confident enough to live without fear in the community.
Even at our different homes, there are set rules to abide by, and it brings orderliness. We still have freedom for certain things but not in everything; otherwise, we face punishment by our parents. So no one is absolutely free, except maybe in our minds. We are free to think of anything, and as much as every thought is permitted into our minds, not all we can freely carry out freely and go scot-free.
In conclusion, as long as your freedom does not affect anyone, then good enough because we all have the right to life, but the moment you use your freedom to commit crimes, you will be held by the law. With this, I can say that our freedom is limited, which is fine.
This is my response to the #HiveLearners community contest on the topic titled, The Concept of Free Will.