Claim. True freedom in light of the principle-of-creation has three characteristics: (1) no freedom exists outside the Principle, (2) no freedom exists without responsibility, (3) no freedom exists without accomplishment. The freedom of an original sinless person is not autonomy-from-God but responsible action toward God’s purpose.
Elaboration. Per 5.1. The Meaning of Freedom from the Viewpoint of the Principle:
-
No freedom outside the Principle. Free will and free actions stand to each other as internal nature and external form; perfect freedom is their harmony. “Since the mind of an original, sinless person cannot operate outside of God’s Word, that is, the Principle, it will never express free will or generate free action apart from the Principle. Undoubtedly, the freedom of a true person never deviates from the Principle.”
-
No freedom without responsibility. Humans, created per the Principle, “can reach perfection only by fulfilling their responsibility based on their free will.” A person pursuing the purpose of creation via free will “ceaselessly strives to carry out his portion of responsibility.”
-
No freedom without accomplishment. Freedom seeks concrete results that complete the purpose of creation and bring joy to God. Free will “ceaselessly pursues concrete results through free actions.”
This atomic redefines “freedom” against the libertarian autonomy reading (freedom = no constraint). For DP, freedom is teleologically bounded: it presupposes a Principle that gives it shape, a responsibility that gives it work, and an accomplishment that gives it completion. The atomic licenses dp-freedom-did-not-cause-the-fall-unprincipled-love-did: if freedom by definition operates within the Principle, then deviation from the Principle is not freedom but its inversion.
See also. dp-freedom-did-not-cause-the-fall-unprincipled-love-did, dp-human-portion-of-responsibility-inviolable-even-by-god