The question of freedom and rules

Abstract

Anyone interested in human action — which also includes speaking — is unavoidably confronted with the problem of freedom: am I free to say what I do; am I free to do what I say; am I free to say what I say or to do what I do? Formulated in this abstract way, these questions appear to be of only theoretical importance, but they also have a practical significance, because the concept of freedom is strongly associated with that of responsibility. It is indeed unreasonable to hold someone responsible for his deeds and omissions when he has been accorded no freedom of action. And he who wishes to abolish the idea of responsibility or to deny the possibility of it, in so doing ultimately dismantles the basis of social transactions because these are based on the idea that the participants in social transactions are free and responsible people who can, in principle, be held responsible for their actions. Although the problems concerning the issue of freedom — bearing these connections in mind — do touch on but also extend beyond the psychoanalytic point of view, their importance is so great — also for psychoanalysis and its aims — that a separate and systematic discussion is justified.