Thomas Hill Green

          Freedom? Yes, many people know a lot about this word, but still, freedom remains only a word. Freedom needs an action not only a meaning, and let the action of our freedom create its own sense. Freedom doesn’t deal about my own freedom but also in others. My freedom can affect my life and the life of others.

One of the many great philosophers who study about freedom is Thomas Hill Green the philosopher of Birkin in the West Riding of Yokshire in England, and he was born in 1836. Thomas Hill Green’s father was an Anglican Parson and was a well-known personality in the Church of England. Way back in 1855, Thomas Hill Green was educated only at his home, and at the age of nineteen (19) he was send to Baliol College, Oxford and he spent the rest of his life. During his days at Balliol College, Thomas Hill Green could not make himself as an outstanding scholar. Still, he could not keep himself only within the studies of subjects, Thomas Hill Green showed his different interest. In his college life, Green was nominated a Fellow of the Balliol College in 1860 and he continued tutorial capacity until 1878. Whyte Professor of Moral Philosophy appointed him to teach several subjects, such as ethics, history of philosophy, metaphysics, logic, etc., that is why he became a successful teacher in Balliol College. Also, Thomas Hill Green shows his interest in public affairs, he joined the Liberal Party and participated in its campaign. His participation in public and political affairs brought changes in his academic and public life. Meanwhile, Thomas Hill Green write books about philosophies and politics and besides he is great observer as well, Green saw the unfairness, both moral and economic which overcome in his time.

Furthermore on his statement, “We shall probably all agree that freedom, rightly understood, is the greatest of all blessings, that its attainment is the true and of all our efforts as citizens. But, when we thus speak of freedom, we should carefully consider what we mean by it. We do not mean merely freedom from restraint or compulsion. We do not mean merely freedom to do as we like irrespectively of what it is that we like. We do not mean freedom that can be enjoyed by one man or one set of men at the cost of a loss of freedom to others. When we speak of freedom as something to be so highly prized, we mean a positive power or capacity of doing or enjoying something with doing or enjoying and that too; something that we do or enjoy in common with others. We mean by it a power which man exercise through the help or security given him by his fellow men and which he in turn helps to secure for them,” Thomas Hill Green said.

Green stated that it is not the unlimited freedom of one and no freedom or very little or another. Thomas Hill Green does not accept the situation where the freedom of ones depends upon the activities or enjoyment of freedom of others. We must know what is freedom is, and what the significance of the freedom is. Moreover, Thomas Hill Green wants to say that we have the rights to enjoy our freedom because it is the one of the greatest gift of every human, and this theory thought that don’t use your freedom in a bad or unpleasant way or the way you want to do but remember, every human must know the limitations of their freedom. In addition, the principle of Thomas Hill Green revealed the positive thing. It is a positive power of enjoying something, but enjoying your freedom with the company of others.

Whenever a man demands freedom and after getting it proceed to enjoy it, he must consider that other people can claim the same thing. So freedom is something which is to be enjoyed in common with others. Every human must be aware of their freedom and what he should not do. Every mortal must also be conscious of the idea of common good of others, and he will enjoy our freedom only in a way that will help the improvement of common good of ourselves and also others.