The Paradox of Freedom
by Thomas S. Buchanan
Freedom is the name of virtue; Slavery, of vice. . . . None is a slave whose acts are free.
—Epictetus
For today’s Christian or anyone seeking to live a moral life, our modern society can be a discouraging place. Over the past seventy or so years, we have witnessed the development of a mentality which now pervades our society and which, I believe, threatens the moral and intellectual underpinnings of our civilization. Yet, the threat itself is well disguised. It comes wrapped in a value very near and dear to the heart of most of us. More accurately, it is a perversion of an ideal to which we all subscribe. Quite simply, the problem lies in our modern understanding, or rather, misunderstanding of freedom.
THIS ARTICLE ONLY AVAILABLE TO SUBSCRIBERS.
FOR QUICK ACCESS:
Thomas S. Buchanan is the George W. Laird Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Delaware. He has studied at UCSD, Northwestern University, and MIT, and has held visiting professorships at the University of Western Australia and the University of Aix-Marseille. He has served as department chairman, deputy dean, and institute director, president of the American Society of Biomechanics, and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Applied Biomechanics. He is on the Board of Trustees of Saint Katherine College, the editorial board of Touchstone, and the board of The Fellowship of St. James.
subscription options
Order
Print/Online Subscription
Get six issues (one year) of Touchstone PLUS full online access including pdf downloads for only $39.95. That's only $3.34 per month!
Order
Online Only
Subscription
Get a one-year full-access subscription to the Touchstone online archives for only $19.95. That's only $1.66 per month!
bulk subscriptions
Order Touchstone subscriptions in bulk and save $10 per sub! Each subscription includes 6 issues of Touchstone plus full online access to touchstonemag.com—including archives, videos, and pdf downloads of recent issues for only $29.95 each! Great for churches or study groups.
Transactions will be processed on a secure server.
more on culture from the online archives
19.4—May 2006
The Culture War Is Between Religious Believers on Both Sides by Howard P. Kainz
32.6—November/December 2019
Historical Truth, Beguiling Stories & Three Kinds of Hearers by Anthony Esolen
34.1—January/February 2021
What the World Needs Now It Hardly Knows by Anthony Esolen
more from the online archives
5.3—Summer 1992
Everything You Need to Know About Morality & the Bible by David Mills
31.6—November/December 2018
Victimhood Culture Scapegoats Its Very Source by Michael P. Foley
calling all readers
Please Donate
"There are magazines worth reading but few worth saving . . . Touchstone is just such a magazine."
—Alice von Hildebrand
"Here we do not concede one square millimeter of territory to falsehood, folly, contemporary sentimentality, or fashion. We speak the truth, and let God be our judge. . . . Touchstone is the one committedly Christian conservative journal."
—Anthony Esolen, Touchstone senior editor
