Individual Freedom Research Articles

Organic Communities, Atomistic Societies and Loneliness

The article distinguishes two models of human organization: the organic community and the atomistic society. It maintains that the organic paradigm stresses (a) the ideal unity of the whole; (b) internal relations; (c) teleological or dialectical processes; (d) co- or inter-dependent members (e. g. the human body or face); (e) a role-orientation; (f) living functions; (g) freedom defined as doing as you should; and (h) qualitative factors prevail. By contrast, the atomistic model emphasizes (a) the value of individual freedom; (b) external relations; (c) mechanical or causal explanations; (d) separate “parts”(e.g. a machine); (e) a rule orientation; (f) formal, legal, or artificial frameworks; (g) freedom defined as doing as you please; and (h) quantitative factors prevail. The article contends that the sense of individual loneliness or alienation experienced is generally much greater in the atomistic society. And since both the American family and its surrounding society are, in the main, atomisticly-structured, it follows that loneliness is more pronounced and prevalent in American society. The article concludes by offering some programmatic ideals and measures to reverse and mitigate the present tendency toward increasing loneliness in the United States.

“We’re a Disease to Someone”: Embodying Safety and Freedom in a State Motorcyclists’ Rights Organization

ABSTRACT Public health and safety experts have advocated mandatory helmet laws as an important means to increase motorcyclists’ safety and public health for over 50 years. Despite these recommendations, some motorcyclists have successfully organized to challenge such laws. This is an ethnographic study of the largest state motorcyclists’ rights organization (SMRO) in the United States and its institutionalized opposition to mandatory helmet laws. I argue that in addition to its focus on individual freedom, the motorcyclists’ rights movement has characteristics of an embodied health movement in the sense that activists challenge expert understandings of health issues based on their personal experiences. Motorcyclists’ rights activists oppose mandatory helmet laws advocated by experts because they interfere with their understanding of freedom but also do not work to increase safety as they understand it. Exploring the embodied health characteristics of the motorcyclists’ rights movement helps us understand how the movement has been able to grow and maintain itself and the boundaries of embodied health movements. Other movements that combine a focus on both freedom and health and safety may exist and provide fruitful opportunities for future research.

The Politics of Christianity in Shaping the Political Dynamics of Zambia

Religion can often be very influential in the political system and political actors frequently take advantage of the leverage that it provides. In the Zambian case, Christianity in particular plays a crucial role in politics and policymaking, dating from the pre- to post-colonial era. Around 1880, Zambia, then Northern Rhodesia, became a British colony and, at the same time, Christianity was introduced within the context of the European culture. Later, 27 years after independence, Zambia was declared a Christian nation, and all Zambian political leaders have embraced Christianity as the nation’s identity. Thus, Christianity plays a critical function in Zambia’s political sphere. The main aim of this paper is to critically examine how Christianity seeks to direct the political agenda in Zambia’s national politics. It demonstrates the interplay between church and state relations linked to how the state seeks to govern the nation in a Godly manner and the implications on public policymaking in Zambia. This paper explores a multifaceted analysis of the existing literature and the ideas around the politics of the state and religion. It argues that (i) Christianity in Zambia is often used as a political weapon to gain political mileage and (ii) Christianity as a religion has been traditionalised in Zambia. It serves as a “national moral campus”, which compromises the nation’s position as a so-called “democratic” state and suppresses individual freedoms. Thus, it corrupts the very nature of fundamental practices of the religion itself, as it has simply blossomed into more of a norm than a religion. Understanding these dynamics is very crucial, especially in the context of how religion is perceived, experienced and exercised in the political arena to circumvent limited policy options for broader problem solving.

The COVID-19 lockdown paradox: democratic support during democratic restrictions

Abstract Previous research has shown that positive perceptions of government performance are linked to higher levels of citizens’ support for democracy. However, the policy response to the COVID-19 crisis presented a unique paradox as relative success in preventing the virus spread depended on expanding executive powers, often at the cost of individual freedoms. Exploring this paradox, we investigate whether the link between perceptions of government performance and support for democracy holds in a situation where positive performance essentially means a restriction of freedoms. Using original survey data from seven European countries, we show that notwithstanding the democratic sacrifices, people with positive evaluations of the government’s response are more likely to maintain support for the democratic system. Nevertheless, people weighed responses to the health domain more heavily than to the economic domain, suggesting that the output legitimacy – democratic support link varies across domain-specific evaluations.

Weaving potentialities and AI:

Ngaa tuku o Maahina is a roopuu [group] whose kaupapa [purpose] relates to the multiple interconnected strands of knowledge of ngaa maramataka [site specific lunar calendars]. We are Hagen Tautari, Horomona Horo, Te Taima Barrett, Hollie Tawhiao, Toni Herangi, Ra Keelan and Joe Citizen. At our inaugural hui [gathering], Toni brought along a taonga [prized treasure] which had been in her family for generations – dated 1898, this photolithographed collection in te reo Māori [the Māori language] and English, has copies of He Whakaputanga (Declaration of independence), Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Treaty of Waitangi) and other associated papers. To some, this is might appear to simply be copies of older original documents. In te ao Māori [the Māori world], however, this collection has its own mauri [life-essence], mana [spiritual authority and prestige] and haa [breath] and retains links to the tuupuna [ancestors] through their tohu [signs]. Our koorero [discussion] became centred on its preservation – simply photographing it and uploading copies of it online would make it vulnerable to AI that employ web-scraping and web-crawling practices, to thieve knowledge and assimilate it into a supposedly universalist framework. This koorero brought to our attention the wider take [subject] of how we should navigate the colonial tendencies of AI – the structural violence that arises from those culturally specific practices that assume a priori truths as universally foundational. By appraising the Eurocentric and human-centric assumptions behind data recognition through the automation of iterative logic loops, we acknowledge the entanglements of historically systemic problems: how cognitivism and positivism underpin supremacist claims of liberatory technological progress; how material realism and representational indexicality have traditionally dismissed and abused indigenous knowledge frameworks; how military-industrial control culture has normalised surveillance and transnational capitalism; and how reductionist methodologies reify libertarian claims of individual freedoms as commodified transactions between atomistic entities.

Dissemination in Social Media and Blogs of Public Health Information and Misinformation on Covid-19 Containment in Switzerland

Future epidemics are perceived as inevitable. Dissemination of information can enhance awareness, serving as an initial stride towards fostering desired epidemic-controlling actions among the public. In this study, a qualitative content analysis of Covid-19- and Switzerland-related social media and blog contributions points at a limited adoption of public health key messages and a negative reputation of the informing authorities. The authorities are to a marginal extent the source of information and a controversial sentiment towards vaccination emerges. In addition, we find a large share of disseminated information that is not conducive to pandemic containment. Within this, a substantial volume of misinformation emerges in statements on Covid-19-related issues. The misinformation consists primarily of unsubstantiated health consequences of the Covid-19 vaccination (both efficacy and side effects), and, less often, of trivialisation or denial of the pandemic. Furthermore, in a phase of political campaigning on a Covid-law referendum in Switzerland, social media contributors often portray pandemic containment as an undue, unlawful, or autocratic imposition on individual and collective freedom, and as a tool deployed for political repression. In addition, the pandemic or its containment are embedded in various conspiracies by users and containment measures are contested with religious, naturopathic or esoteric arguments.

Writing Life, Writing Time, Writing the Mother

This article focuses on Ernaux’s later life memories of a twentieth century daughter-mother relationship, rendered in the light of this era’s historical transformations and its tensions between individual freedom and collective "fate," and between pre- and post 1968 conceptions of a fulfilled life. It refers to Ernaux’s most monumental work of self-writing, Les Années (2008) and this book’s links to what she has previously written in remembrance of her mother. The purpose is to investigate how these works seek to come to terms with, not only the loss of a mother, but also the narrator’s own aging. Ernaux exemplifies the adult daughter-senescent mother relationship in ways that are characteristic for her generation of women and suggestive of general historical changes in human relationships in Western societies since 1968. Can Ernaux’s writing provide, in the terms of Kathleen Woodward, “cultural models of older women as a way of generating alternative futures for ourselves”? Or does it fail to reconciliate the stereotypical binary of female aging as either graceful or awful, conveying tabooed aspects of old age that need to be brought to light, and even more urgently so in a socio-cultural context privileging youthfulness, individualism and uncertain human bonds? Keywords: Annie Ernaux, The Years; aging daughter-mother relationship; filiation narratives; auto-socio-biography; memory and time; autonomy and dependency; social exclusion; abjection and purification.

Existentialism in Philip Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

This study scrutinizes existential themes in Philip Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (1968) that focus on the impotence of man and his suffering, living in a world devoid of apprehension. The study argues that Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? presents an existential philosophy as it conglomerates different important canons of existentialism, including individualism, importance of choice, absurdity, despair, alienation, death, individual freedom, and the perception that existence precedes essence. The methodology applied in this study is qualitative-descriptive. The study is significant as it links literature with philosophy. The purpose of the study is to reveal prominent configurations of existentialism in Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? that are omnipresent across its tapestry. As for the findings, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? involves an intricate mesh of the philosophical gospels of existentialism that raise questions about existence and the human condition.

Unpacking Human Rights: Freedom of Consciousness, Bodily Autonomy & Right to Life in the Context of War on Drugs Crimes

Abstract This study explores the interplay between the right to life, right to development, bodily autonomy and freedom of conscience, and demonstrates how these factors collectively shape the concept of freedom of consciousness and simultaneously lead to increased access to altered states of consciousness, cognitive liberty, freedom of development, and the peak experiences that Abraham Maslow researched. Second chapter delves into the intersection of human rights and drug policy, specifically examining the implications of the War on Drugs on individual freedoms. It argues that the War on Drugs has led to a violation of fundamental human rights, including cognitive liberty, bodily autonomy, and the right to life. Through an analysis of international human rights law and case studies from around the world, the paper demonstrates how drug-related crimes have resulted in mass incarceration, violence, and human rights abuses. It also explores decriminalization of drug use, end of War on Drugs and criminalization of its’ crimes. The research results provide insights into the interrelation between these three concepts, shedding light on how they intersect and influence each other and in context of War on Drugs hostile environment. Findings also suggest that the War on Drugs has resulted in a significant violation of fundamental human rights.

Re-Creation of a Classic Novel through Transmedia Storytelling : Cross-Cultural Learning Focusing on Tess of the d'Urbervilles

This study explores the transmedia-storytelling model to induce EFL learners to participate in project-based learning while reading a classic novel, <i>Tess of the d'Urbervilles</i>. The objectives are to encourage their participation and to design a class representing ‘limited selection and freedom’ for the twenties. In particular, when provided with subtitles through CCD (Cross-Cultural Dialogue) based inquiry, learners can experience student-centered creation activities by adding, reforming, and storytelling the content. In this study, the more the students learn about individual freedom and the ability to adapt, the higher consideration they will have for both their own and other cultures, which can improve their emotional resilience. They will also learn that studyng with people from different cultural backgrounds can promote their learning efficacy. Hopefully, this study can contribute to building a model of Liberal Arts to encourage further readings in the Classics and to activate learners’ convergence skills in English language classes.

Representasi Otoritarianisme dalam Cerita Rakyat Kutai Berjudul “Punang”

The aim of this study is to explore the representation of authoritarianism in the Kutai folklore titled Punang, focusing on both the intrinsic and extrinsic aspects of the text. Through this story, it becomes evident how power and customary laws influence the social life of the community, particularly the pressure faced by King Buy to marry in order to produce offspring. The study employs a qualitative descriptive method with a hermeneutic and narrative approach to reveal messages of authoritarianism within the story. The findings indicate the presence of cultural authoritarianism, as seen in how leaders are expected to submit to collective decisions and customary laws that regulate individual freedom. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of regional literature and demonstrates how traditional norms can shape power structures and social legitimacy within local communities.

Unjust Deprivation of Liberty During the Criminal Process: The Romanian National Standard Compared to the European Standard for the Protection of Individual Freedom in Judicial Proceedings

The provisions of international documents that guarantee the fundamental right to freedom and security are transposed into Romanian legislation both in the Constitution and in the Code of Criminal Procedure. In this context, the present study aims to analyze the national standard of protection of individual freedom in judicial proceedings compared to the standard established by the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Through documentation, interpretation, and scientific analysis as the main research methods, this paper emphasizes the possibility of establishing, through domestic legislation, a level of protection higher than that imposed by the conventional standard. From this perspective, by regulating a right to repair the damage suffered in the situation of unjust deprivation of liberty as a result of ordering a preventive measure, the national standard of protection established by the Romanian Code of Criminal Procedure is higher than the European standard. This study concludes with a proposal to expand the current procedural framework configured by the provisions of the Romanian Code of Criminal Procedure (with the amendments made in 2023) regarding the special procedure for repairing the damage suffered as a result of the illegal or unjust deprivation of liberty during the criminal process.

Existential Buddhism: embracing life's uncertainties and finding meaning within

This study explores the profound questions surrounding the pursuit of Nirvana in Buddhism, examining whether it arises from the cycle of rebirth, present suffering, or future pain as depicted in early Buddhist scriptures. It also investigates the potential convergence of Buddhism with existentialism, a philosophy emphasizing individual experience, freedom, responsibility, and life’s inherent uncertainties. The primary inquiry examines whether Buddhism can harmonize with existentialist perspectives, which emphasize individuality amidst life’s enigmas. This research comprehensively investigates the reasons driving individuals in mainstream Buddhism to seek Nirvana, delving into their quest for liberation, and emphasizes the existential essence of Buddhism. Finally, It explores the plausibility of an alternative form of Buddhism that incorporates existential philosophy. Using a literature analysis approach with a thematic focus, this study critically examines the writings of prominent Buddhist scholars, existential philosophers, and researchers on the intersection of Buddhism and existentialism. The analysis reveals that Buddhists aspire for Nirvana to escape the cycle of suffering and find solace and serenity. Moreover, the juxtaposition of Buddhism and existentialism offers a fresh perspective, highlighting individual autonomy and choice in confronting life’s complexities, and providing an early Buddhist account of existential nature. By deepening the understanding of how mindfulness and meditation connect to core Buddhist principles, this research fosters more authentic engagement with Buddhist practices, enriching personal well-being. This research has vital implications for understanding the pursuit of meaning and liberation from suffering amidst life’s chaos, challenging conventional perceptions of Buddhism, and elucidating potential alignments with existential thought, inviting further research.

BALANCING IDENTITY AND LIBERTY: A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF LIBERAL NATIONALISM

Nationalism studies examine political and cultural nationalism as fundamental frameworks for understanding nation-building and identity formation. Political nationalism emphasizes the importance of sovereignty, self-determination and governance structures that support these principles. In contrast, cultural nationalism focuses on preserving and promoting shared heritage, language and traditions that define a community’s distinctive identity. Liberal nationalism, on the other hand, seeks to balance collective identity with the protection of individual rights and freedoms and seeks to harmonize these elements in a democratic context. Leading thinkers such as Yael Tamir, David Miller and Will Kymlicka have engaged in rigorous debates about the merits and challenges of liberal nationalism. These thinkers address the complexities and tensions that arise in different and pluralistic contexts regarding liberal nationalism and explore its potential to promote inclusive and harmonious societies. One critical debate focuses on the applicability of liberal nationalism, particularly in societies with significant ethnic, cultural and religious diversity. This article aims to fill an important gap in the literature by providing a comprehensive analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of liberal nationalism. It compares this ideology with other forms of nationalism, such as ethnic and civic nationalism, providing a nuanced understanding of its distinct features and potential benefits. The article also assesses the applicability of liberal nationalism through literature reviews. By examining the theoretical foundations and practical implications of liberal nationalism, this study offers a perspective on its role in contemporary democracies. It highlights how liberal nationalism can be a viable framework for nation-building that respects collective identity and individual rights and offers a balanced approach to governance in increasingly diverse societies.

Exclusion of Evidence and Its Impact on Criminal Justice: a Comparative Study

Abstract This article discusses the exclusion of evidence in the Qatari and US legal systems. It focuses on the legal basis on which the exclusion of evidence is established in these two systems. The Qatari legal system is a dual system between Islamic Sharia and Qatari legislation. It relies heavily on the rule of invalidity, which is a procedural penalty that is applied when the conditions stipulated by the law are violated in relation to the procedure that was conducted. Meanwhile, the US legal system relies on the exclusionary rule, as this rule has a judicial source. This research discusses the exceptions to the exclusion of criminal evidence in the Qatari and US legal systems to explore how effective are these exceptions in achieving a balance between the goal of protecting the rights and freedoms of individuals and the goal of punishing criminals to preserve the stability of society.

Winging it: visions, automation, and narrating alternative mobility futures

This paper is concerned with the way that futures for autonomous mobility are envisioned, specifically in industry representations. We begin by analysing a pair of representative commercial narratives around future autonomous mobility, from Wing and Audi, finding them to be simplistic, exclusionary, and focused on individual freedoms. Building on this analysis, we draw on ideas around mobility justice and creative mobilities methods to craft an alternative science fiction vignette, one that augments a future from a gig worker’s perspective. In doing so, we foreground multiple injustices and insecurities, and aim to highlight the potential within creative and narrative methods to complicate dominant stories about technological futures, to articulate alternative futures, explore them, research with them, and make other futures more tangible. The paper concludes by discussing the need for such approaches given the dominant framings around autonomous mobility futures.

The Concept of Individuality in Ujamaa: Hermeneutical Historical and Phenomenological Aspects of Politics in Tanzania

The phenomena of politics in Tanzania show tension in individual’s freedom of speech as the product of human rationality. This study attempts to display the indispensability of historical influence of the concept of individuality in Ujamaa in the present political realm despite the fact that there is denial of the existence and influence of Ujamaa in the current politics. The hermeneutical method of the source material has been used with a systematic description of ideas in Ujamaa in the past and its interpretation and implication in the present and future. The findings show that the anthropological values in Ujamaa were over shadowed by authoritative elements in the past and so do in the current situation the condition which hinders the individual freedom of unity in diversity in the political realm, the idea which is crucial in the global and digital nation.

The capability approach in mental health research: A scoping review

Abstract The capability approach (CA), which focuses on individual freedom and choices in the conceptualization of well-being, is gaining traction in recent studies of well-being. At the same time, mental health researchers are increasingly adopting a holistic definition of mental health that encompasses both the absence and presence of mental health. Despite the fit between CA and the latest definition of mental health, limited studies examine mental health through the CA lens. To promote CA-based mental health research, this scoping review provides an overview of the mental health studies that utilized CA. Following Arksey and O’Malley’s (2005) guidelines, we reviewed 61 studies published between 2007 to 2023 and written in English from Ovid PsycINFO, Ovid Medline, Embase, and Web of Science. Included studies used CA as a theoretical framework underlying the interventions of interest, to guide research processes or to inform the development and validation of well-being measurements. Most studies conceptualized mental health as a continuum while a few studies focused solely on the presence or absence of psychological disorders. The included studies primarily utilized the cross-sectional design and qualitative (48.1 percent) and quantitative (34.4 percent) data collection methods. The results point to the future directions in CA-based mental health research.

To Bequeath or not to Bequeath? A South African Law Analysis of the "Problematic Areas" Found in the Islamic Law of Intestate Succession

The fairness of the Islamic Law of compulsory succession remains a heavily contested issue all over the world. Frequently debated topics, referred to in this article as the "problematic areas", include the 2:1 division of inheritance in favour of the male, the disqualification of a child born out of wedlock and the exclusion of an adopted child from the Islamic intestate inheritance equation. This equation is found in the primary texts of the religion of Islam i.e., the Holy Qur'ān and Prophetic teachings. These texts contain a formula dictating how the assets in a deceased person's estate should devolve, with individual freedom of testation limited to only a third of the net estate. The position followed in South African law is vastly different to the aforementioned. This article focusses on these so-called problematic areas found in the Islamic law of intestate succession. Part One of this article demonstrates these differences through the use of a hypothetical scenario involving person X. This hypothetical scenario includes an investigation of all three "problematic areas" mentioned. The article further progresses to uncover the rationale for each of these principles. The concluding section of this article provides recommendations on the lawful remedies available to Muslim testators wanting to create a more equitable distribution.

National Characteristics of the Kyrgyz Republic Regarding the Priority of Human Rights and Freedoms

This article discusses the national characteristics of the priority of political rights and freedoms of individuals and citizens in the Kyrgyz Republic. The authors examine the development of normative legislation in the Kyrgyz Republic. At the current stage, an important part of the human rights institution and its further phased development since independence are highlighted. The necessity of maintaining a balance between the priority of human rights and freedoms and national security is noted.