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This is exactly what I'm talking about. You're defining freedom solely in terms of others "denying you" something rather than actually being able to do what you want. Then you proclaim that OTHERS don't understand freedom. :roll:
well, in a philosophical context, that's the generally accepted definition of freedom. A midget can't dunk a basketball. A 6'6" black guy locked in a cell can't dunk either. But there's a meaningful distinction between why each cannot dunk a basketball. In the philosophical sense of the word "free", the midget is "free" to dunk (although he is physically unable) while the prisoner is not. The distinction being that, in the case of the prisoner, conscious moral agents are responsible for keeping the black guy from dunking.
(that example's pretty straightforward, but it's easy to twist the variables a bit and things can get hairy real fast)