freedom

I was listening to a very interesting lecture the other day on "Jewish Intellectual History" and the lecturer mentioned a concept called 'two types of freedom' which I found fascinating.
The basic idea is that there are two forms of freedom we can ascribe to.
1) The Freedom from Restraint. This is basically the idea that freedom is the freedom to do what I want, when I want and how I want.
2) The Freedom of Contraint. This is the idea that I use my freedom to place myself under that guidance of a higher power. I exercise my freedom to contrain myself because I acknowledge that God has greater wisdom than I in regard to how I should live.

I found it a really interesting concept that 'freedom' is found and experienced when I come under the umbrella of a greater wisdom. That instead of constraining me, this voluntary constraint actually liberates me to achieve a higher good and greater freedom than acting as an autonomous being can do. Thus 'constraint' brings true freedom, and 'autonomy' ends up in constraint as everyone seeks to exercise their individual autonomy to the detriment of others around them.

Source: Lecture from a series called "Jewish Intellectual History: 16th to 20th Century" which is available from the Teaching Company (www.teach12.com). Quoting from an article by Isaiah Berlin called 'Two Concepts of Freedom'. (See http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/liberty-positive-negative/)