Rather, we are free because we are able to ask ourselves what we ought to do with our time. To lead a free, spiritual life (rather than a life determined merely by natural instincts), I must be responsible for what I do. Likewise, social norms continue to inform who I can take myself to be and what I can do with my life. Without social norms, which I did not invent and that shape the world in which I find myself, I can have no understanding of who to be or what to do. This is what it means to lead a spiritual life.

Source: New York Times March 11, 2019 15:00 UTC