Our subject of discussion is not intrinsic freedom.

Our subject of discussion is not intrinsic freedom. No one has any doubt about it and the proper place to discuss it is in philosophy and scholastic theology [ kalam ], not law and politics. No contradiction between the internally value-oriented system and freedom A subject that must be tackled here is that every man has an inner power that determines the limit and conditions of his behavior and actions. Technically, every man has a set of values.

As such, every rational man believes in certain do’s and don’ts in his life, believing that he must do certain actions and refrain from doing others. We do not know of any person in the world who has no set of do’s and don’ts and who does not consider actions as good or bad.

The power that comprehends the do’s and don’ts and has rational and moral admonitions is called the practical intellect [ ‘aql-e ‘amali ] or conscience [ wijdan ]—possessed by all human beings since creation and has a set of seemingly uniform do’s and don’ts or admonitions for all human beings. The practical intellect or conscience of every person understands that justice, trust and honesty are good and advises him to observe them.

The intellect or conscience of every person regards injustice and oppression as bad and obscene and orders him not to oppress anyone, especially a weak person who is not capable of defending himself. The intellect or conscience of every person considers lying and treachery as evil and urges him to shun them. Thus, every person has an internal power that lays the foundation of a set of values on the basis of which all human beings consider a group of actions as good and another group as bad.

Undoubtedly, in presenting this set of values and identifying this sort of do’s and don’ts, the intellect or inner power of human beings is independent and is in no need of any external factor. It is this discernment that issues recommendations and orders. The fact that our intellect discerns what actions are good or bad points us to a set of obligations which restrict our intrinsic freedom. That is, the intellect or conscience commands us not to enjoy our liberty or freedom thoughtlessly.

We may oppress others but the intellect tells us, “Don’t oppress; be kind.” We may tell a lie but the intellect commands us to be honest and not to lie.