Martin Luther King Liberty Analysis

The Meaning of Philosophy in the Theme of Liberty

Quote 1: Martin Luther King Jr.: “We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed” (para.11.)

This quote defines the role of philosophy as a way to examine the nature of human freedom and liberty from oppressive social trends in American life. King’s statement is based on the necessity of the philosophical examination of racism in the United States, which compelled him to pursue political activism to liberate African Americans from white racist culture. The “price” of freedom is the unique ability of human beings to make a philosophical choice about their own lives, which provides a context in which to examine

Much like Socrates and King, Hobbes understands the “price” of liberty that an individual can claim through a type of self-sacrifice for the freedom of the community. When Hobbes states that an individual must “lay down his rights”, he defining the individuals courageous ability to evaluate and examine life through the lens of philosophical discourse. The “liberty” of the mind is one way in which Hobbes defines the ability of thoughtful individuals to understand the effects of his own actions in relation to others, which defines the ability to critically evaluate human interactions through logic and reasoning. In philosophy, logic and reasoning help to liberate the mind of the individual by analyzing the internal and external aspects of governance, communities, and human relationships. Hobbes is certainly defining the courageous aspects of philosophy that define the “rights of nature” in human societies, which provide a context for freedom and liberty of individuals through a moral and ethical framework. In this quote, logic, reasoning, morality, and ethics are a framework in which the individual can liberate himself or herself even if it means sacrificing their own rights for the greater