We typically feell proud of our personal achivements and quickly claim them when our merits are challenged. On the other hand, free will has been challenged as a mere illusion of freedom. Some scientific findings have rewakening old determinisms. Neuroscience seems to discover that our perception of being the free authors of our actions is actually determined by biological mechanisms in the same way as physical systems are determined. At the same time, if there is no free will, it is difficult to maintin moral responsibility and without moral responsibility no one can be blamed or praised for their actions. So, is moral responsibiiity a reality or an illusion?
36. We must choose happiness; we have no choice.
37. Happiness is a change in us, not a change in the world.
38. True freedom needs to be conquered.
39. We are not happier when we have more choices but when we choose well.
40. Choosing well means making choices that turn us into better persons.
41. My worst enemy is my many mes.
42. The rules define the game, but the skills define the player, even in morality.
43. Virtues are intentionally acquired and intelligently practiced moral skills.
44. There are four cardinal moral dispositions but innumerable moral virtues.
45. Not the greatest happiness for the greatest number but the greatest number of the greatest persons.
46. Morality is not a restriction but an increase of freedom to live well.
47. We are not free from human nature but for human nature.
The concept of freedom has been reduced to mere capacity to choose among options. We all aspire not only to be free, but to become increasingly freer. This impels humanity towards a technological and political pursuit aimed at enhancing our capacities and freedoms to ensure a happier future. However, this notion of freedom and happiness often overlooks fundamental truths. The better world is the world with better people. The most formidable obstacle to achieving a better world is not our lack of technological prowess or individual freedoms, but rather our internal struggle to put ourselves together in pursuit of the good we ought to pursue. True freedom, the freedom to embody the good individuals we are naturally meant to be, must be conquered in order to forge a happier world. This endeavor necessitates the cultivation of virtue and the overcoming of vice within ourselves. Better people are the virtuous people.