"There is no concrete possibility at all of disengagement from social, political, and economic determinations. The only freedom man has is to recognize these and to recognize that he is determined by them. The first act of freedom is a recognition of necessity, not theoretically, but with a personal reference, and an attempt to put this recognition to work by trying to assess necessity, to discover its meaning and significance. To face up to the necessity that is seen at work in oneself, to perceive that I myself obey necessity, and to consider the implications of this—this act of recognition is an act of freedom."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Jacques Ellul, The Ethics of Freedom (1974), p. 44
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Freedom
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Freedom
391 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Freedom →
Related Quotes
"To be what no one ever was, To be what everyone has been: Freedom is the mean of those Extremes that fence all effort…"
"In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedo…"
"What would you have me do? Search out some powerful patronage, and be Like crawling ivy clinging to a tree? No thank …"
"I must walk toward Oregon, and not toward Europe. And that way the nation is moving, and I may say that mankind progr…"
"The moment you accept God's ordering, that moment your work ceases to be a task, and becomes your calling; you pass f…"
"Eastward I go only by force; but westward I go free."
"If the fires of freedom and civil liberties burn low in other lands, they must be made brighter in our own. If in oth…"
"Wisdom is not absolute autocracy and independence of the soul, but obedience and subordination of the soul to higher …"
"Freedom for me is to live with dignity, and if my dignity and freedom is controlled by a man, I will never be free."
"A man who is free is like a mangy sheep in a herd. He will contaminate my entire kingdom and ruin my work."