Realms of Freedom~Chpt. 4.

Freeeeeeeedom! was William Wallace's famous outburst in the film Braveheart. Now I will try my best to succinct the concept of freedom from the perspective of Lacan and Zizek.

Lacan's notion of freedom is based on the belief that the individual is always constrained by the symbolic order. This order is what gives meaning to our lives and determines our place in society. It is only through accepting these constraints that we can achieve true freedom.Zizek's notion of freedom, on the other hand, is based on the belief that we are never really free. Even when we think we are making our own choices, we are always influenced by the ideological structures that surround us. These structures determine how we see the world and what options are available to us. Only by recognizing and struggling against these structures can we hope to achieve true freedom.

We continue our philosophical investigation of freedom. I'd want to thank all of the teachers that helped me out when I was a teenager and made me read books like a rat. To continue with this research, I had to pause and ask myself, What really is freedom, and are we born free? Or were we meant to be free? In order to understand the notion of ourselves and how that self interacts with reality, we dispute the phony reality that is in this museification of the self. I will outline the principles of freedom found in major philosophical works in order to construct a framework to examine (and argue) if a fabricated version of ourselves may liberate us.

Lacan's notion of freedom

           In the early days of psychoanalysis, Lacan was interested in exploring the concept of freedom and what it meant for his patients. For Lacan, freedom was something that could be attained through self-awareness and understanding. He believed that if his patients could become aware of their own desires and motivations, they would be able to make choices that were truly free. This process of self-discovery was often painful and difficult, but Lacan felt it was necessary in order to achieve true freedom.

           Lacan's notion of freedom is based on the idea that the subject is always already a part of the Other. The Other is the realm of the symbolic, where language and culture determine our reality. We can never be free from the Other, but we can strive to achieve a more authentic way of life by living in accordance with our desires. This requires us to become aware of the ways in which we are determined by the Other and to find new ways of expressing ourselves.

           Lacan's ideas about freedom have been influential in many different fields, including politics and philosophy. His work has helped to shape our understanding of what it means to be free, and has contributed to the debate about the nature of freedom itself.

Žižek's notion of freedom

           Žižek in his books addresses the question of what it means to be free. He argues that we are not really free in the way we think we are, because we are always constrained by social norms, economic necessity, “and so on”. Instead, he says, true freedom is a matter of self-mastery: being able to do what you want, without being limited by your own desires or fears. This kind of freedom is not easy to attain, but Zizek believes it is worth striving for.

           In Zizek's view, freedom is not simply the absence of constraint or the ability to do what one pleases. Rather, it is a complex and often contradictory process that involves both the surrender of individual desires to the larger group and the assertion of one's own individuality against the group. Zizek sees freedom as being fundamentally linked to what he calls the "big Other" - the symbolic order within which we all operate. This Other can take many forms, such as the state, religion, or even language itself. We are always constrained by these external forces, which tell us what we can and cannot do. However, Zizek also believes that it is through these same forces that we can achieve true freedom. By submitting to them, we are able to transcend our individual desires and connect with something larger than ourselves. In this way, we can become more than just individuals - we can become part of a community or a nation. Zizek's notion of freedom is thus quite different from the traditional liberal understanding of the term. For Zizek, freedom does not simply mean the absence of constraint - it is an active process that requires us to surrender our individuality to the larger group. Only by doing this can we hope to achieve true freedom.