Freedom of thought
The freedom of thought is the freedom of thought, especially in ideological and political matters.
origin
Originally, freedom of thought in the sense of freedom of expression , i.e. the freedom to express one's thoughts loudly and publicly, was a privilege of the rulers, which they only granted to their subjects in exceptional cases.
From the late Middle Ages onwards, the idea that the subjects or their advocates should independently claim the right to freedom of thought, if necessary, began to prevail here and there. We find this idea embodied, for example, in Friedrich Schiller's play Don Karlos , where the Marquis von Posa demands of the absolutist ruling King Philip II : "Give freedom of thought". Posa and Schiller are of the opinion that freedom of expression can be derived from natural law and must be guaranteed by the state.
Immanuel Kant claimed in his work What is Enlightenment? that freedom of opinion (and thus freedom of thought) no longer has to be fought for in the age of enlightened absolutism , since it has long been guaranteed by princes like Friedrich II . Contrary to Kant's assertion, Friedrich's successor in the office of the Prussian king curtailed freedom of expression; Freedom of expression, however, is part of the essence of a developed, stable constitutional state .
The ideal
In the middle of the 19th century this development in the German-speaking area was completed. The ideal found in Hoffmann von Fallersleben's adaptation of the folk song The thoughts are free, its symbol. All of its aspects found their adequate expression in it. The thoughts are not only free, they are also unfathomable (“Who can guess them?”) And closed to knowledge (“No one can know them”). The poet immediately followed the powerful "I think what I want / and what makes me happy" the moral limitation: "But everything in the style / And as it is." Because true strength lies only in the mastery of oneself. This picture also includes humor , which plays a decisive role wherever there is a struggle for the realization of the ideal: "You can always laugh and joke in your heart". This also brings another important aspect of freedom of thought into play: individuality.
The importance of this text for the idea of freedom of thought results from the fact that the song served as inspiration for various resistance movements in the German-speaking area and was used as a hymn by hiking and student movements of all kinds.
The situation today
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the UN states that everyone is entitled to freedom of thought have. This right is guaranteed in all member states of the Council of Europe by the European Convention on Human Rights .
See also
swell
- Johann Nestroy : Freedom in Krähwinkel . In: John R. P. McKenzie (Ed.): Complete works. Youth and People, Vienna 1995.
- Karl Kraus : Nestroy and posterity. In: The fall of the world through black magic . Publishing house Die Fackel, Vienna 1925.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Friedrich Schiller: Dom Karlos, Infante of Spain. Leipzig 1787, p. 281.
- ↑ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 18 ( UN Document A / RES / 217 A (III) , PDF, 39 kB, accessed on June 14, 2017).
- ↑ European Convention on Human Rights of November 4, 1950, Article 9.