Freedom

Maybe we should be more serious about this voluntary business.

If you consider the problem philosophically, the concept of voluntary originates from a closely related one - freedom, which is, unfortunately, ignis fatuus. The classical scenario is: For a stone rolling downhill, is it free? In other words, is it falling voluntarily, or under the undue influence of some extrinsic force?

The happening that really touches my nerve is: When an apple falls to the ground, it could be reasonable for the fruit itself to think it is falling voluntarily. On the other hand, if Isaac Newton concludes that the apple decides to fall voluntarily, I shall be disappointed.

But, if it is the Earth who tells us that the unfortunate red fruit which crashes the ground and smashes into pieces has the freedom and it falls voluntarily, what word other than shameless could we use to describe the situation?

PS. The sobering truth is, all four fundamental concepts of a democratic society, namely freedom, fairness, democracy and justice, are nothing but our own fancies.

I shall not elaborate further.