Why do we value freedom?

[Alerik the Fortunate]

What evolutionary gains do we get from it, to desire to be free? It seems that most don't even really understand its true nature or limits, yet it is often deemed to be desirable to the point of accepting death rather than surrender autonomy.

Yet on the other hand obedient conformance is so much easier for many, even when it is demonstrably not in the interest of those that obey, and some cultures value obedience far above individual freedom. And of course there are cultures that worship conformity while proclaiming "freedom" as the result of accepting the practices of that culture.

I obviously haven't given this much thought yet, but the question came into my mind after reading "The Ecology of Freedom" by Murray Bookchin. It seems to be tied to ideas about the dignity and value of individual humans, but I've not had the idea of the value of freedom taken as other than a given. Any thoughts?

[Lord of the Abyss]

What evolutionary gains do we get from it, to desire to be free?

What immediately comes to my mind is the ability to look after our own self interest. People who want to take away your freedom are seldom the ones you want running your life.

[Dooey Jo]

What evolutionary gains do we get from it, to desire to be free? It seems that most don't even really understand its true nature or limits, yet it is often deemed to be desirable to the point of accepting death rather than surrender autonomy.

Why do you assume that it's something genetic rather than something they learned from their society? Because they defend it without really knowing what it means? People do the same thing with the Bible, without having read it; they were taught that it was good and true, and therefore it must be defended.

[Kanastrous]

Without a working definition of freedom it's a difficult question.

I mean, there are plenty of people who believe that "freedom" means freedom to be required to live by the strictures of one particular book, and to expect others to be required to do the same...

[Alerik the Fortunate]

I mean, there are plenty of people who believe that "freedom" means freedom to be required to live by the strictures of one particular book, and to expect others to be required to do the same...

That's what I find interesting, that it is considered so desirable that even it's opposite is given the same name to make it more attractive. Well, I suppose I just need a healthy dose of history to sort this out better.

[Darth Wong]

Saying that we value freedom is a half-statement, which is why it's meaningless bullshit. We do not value "freedom" without qualifiers. We value the freedom to do specific things that we would like to do, either now or someday in the future.

In reality, what we value is the option to perform certain actions without penalty. Some of the more altruistic among us may also value the option for others to perform certain actions that we feel they should be able to do. But when people say they value "freedom" with no qualifiers, they're just spewing rhetorical horseshit. Freedom without qualifiers is anarchy.