|31| Only in this freedom is the will unqualifiedly with itself, because it relates itself to nothing but itself, so that every relation of dependence on something other thereby falls away. – It is true, or rather it is truth itself, because its determining consists in being, in its determinate being – that is, as something standing over against itself – what its concept is; or, the pure concept has the intuition of itself as its end and its reality.
§ 23: Wholly with itself
This free will is wholly with itself. What does that mean?
Whoever is with himself depends on nothing. He does not follow any foreign master, any whim, any stimulus from outside. The free will relates only to itself. That is why every dependence falls away.
At the same time, this will is true. More than that: It is truth itself.
The word “true” has a special sense here. In everyday life, we call a statement true when it is correct. Here, “true” means: A thing is what it should be. We also talk like this in other places, for example about a true friend. That is someone who fully matches what a friend is.
This fully applies to the free will. It gives itself an existence, and in doing so it faces itself. In this existence, it is exactly what its core is. It looks at itself and finds only itself there.
Summary: The free will depends on nothing foreign; it is wholly with itself. And it is true, because in its existence it is what its core demands.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.