Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Part I To be conscious
- Part II To have consciousness
- Part III To know consciously
- 7 Landscape and the world about us
- 8 ‘Mary the colour scientist’ (Jackson)
- 9 Knowing how it feels to be free
- Conclusions
- Notes
- Further reading, viewing and listening
- References to films, paintings and other artworks
- Bibliography
- Index
9 - Knowing how it feels to be free
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 July 2014
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Part I To be conscious
- Part II To have consciousness
- Part III To know consciously
- 7 Landscape and the world about us
- 8 ‘Mary the colour scientist’ (Jackson)
- 9 Knowing how it feels to be free
- Conclusions
- Notes
- Further reading, viewing and listening
- References to films, paintings and other artworks
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Song: ‘I wish I knew how it would feel to be free’
I wish I knew how
It would feel to be free
I wish I could break
All the chains holding me
I wish I could say
All the things that I should say
Say ’em loud say ’em clear
For the whole round world to hear
I wish I could share
All the love that’s in my heart
Remove all the bars
That keep us apart
I wish you could know
What it means to be me
Then you’d see and agree
That every man should be free
As we reach the concluding part of this book, I want to try to gather up the main conceptual work of what’s gone before this point. And I wish to use the song lyrics above as a way to do it. If I had to sum up the conceptual work of this book in one sentence, it would be ‘I wish I knew how it would feel to be free.’ What follows offers a commentary that shows my workings out. Once we understand acting freely as a new way of seeing, I believe that we have a way into this song and of understanding our shared humanity.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Acts of ConsciousnessA Social Psychology Standpoint, pp. 260 - 264Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2014