Man is condemned to be free," what do you think of this quote?

Question

anybody?

Answer 1

It's hard for a man to be free once he grasps onto everything within a society.

Why else do you think the boy fro Into the Wild wanted to get away?

He wanted to be free.

It's so hard for anyone to let go of the idea of happiness or the idea of achieving it.

Happiness is within, it doesn't come from superficial things that most find worthy, like great paying jobs.

The idea is to go to school and major in something that pays a lot so that you can have everything you want. But then you get so stuck on that idea of achieving that goal, it has you in chains with responsibilities, and because you're chained you're unable to be yourself. You're tied down and since you've been there for so long you don't even realize it.

Just blame society for putting you there.

And so when a man is condemned to be free, he's doomed from freedom, to be himself and do what he pleases.

Before he thinks for himself, he must think of everyone else around him and because of them, he's not free to do what he wants.

There are so many ways to look at it.

Answer 2

Real freedom is to not to be subjected or slave to our basic needs, but moderation is the mother of all virtues.

Answer 3

'condemned to be free' condemned meaning sentenced? as punishment most probably?

i guess freedom can be a punishment, left to your own will, with no limitations to guide you, completely alone with no structure, i think some people may even fear freedom.

i wouldnt, but i can sort of see where the quote is coming from

Answer 4

I think that the person who made the quote didn't have a very high opinion of freedom, democracy, or the civil rights of humanity.  The speaker misses the point of freedom.  He thinks of it as a burden instead of a release from the feudal mentality of others.   Perhaps he was a slave to some authoritarian God, Lord, or ideology.

Answer 5

You're missing the rest of it, which should make it easier to understand:

Man is condemned to be free, and everywhere in chains

Think about how our freedom is directly connected to our willingness to subject ourselves to laws and codes established by society. In most all cases of law, it's easy to understand why the law exists, why it was written and established and codified into "how things are done".

In some cases, though, I'm sure you can pinpoint where a law is actually an infringement of a person's right to freedom, given certain circumstances, of course.