FATALISM OR FREEDOM 



The argument so far comes to this. 

 The concept of freedom cannot be defined 

 or even discussed scientifically outside the 

 sphere of orderly or lawful causal se- 

 quences. Within this sphere, a process, 

 or a thing, or a person may be said to be 

 free in respect to some definite context. 

 It is wholly a relative matter. A man who 

 Imagines that he is free to disregard all 

 the laws of nature promptly terminates 

 his career unless restrained in the asylum. 

 And is any one of us in a position to 

 choose to which of the laws he will con- 

 form? No, we must obey them all 

 whether we like it or not. Within this 

 lawfully determined and determining natu- 

 ral system we recognize in our common 

 speech a natural freedom which, though 

 limited, is real. The meaning of the word 

 must, however, be carefully defined in each 

 case where it is used with reference to the 

 particular behavior under consideration. 



Political freedom is obviously natural 

 freedom as here defined. A nation is free 

 though controlled by civil, criminal, and 

 international laws, but only in so far as 

 these laws do not obstruct the social and 

 political evolution of the people. And the 

 declaration of our fathers that all men are 



[54] 



