NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English (Kaleidoscope Non-Fiction) Chapter 1 Freedom

Ans : The renowned dramatist and critic G.B. Shaw has explored the concept of freedom in this lesson. His pragmatist perspective pinpoints the fact that a man can never be completely free. He is a slave in one way or the other. However, the type of slavery he chooses is entirely upon him. The first type- slavery of man to Nature, is inherent in every human being. We are all slaves to our instincts of hunger, sleep, cleanliness, dressing up and bearing a child (in this case additional slavery for a woman). These natural duties are a part and parcel of our lives and every individual from the highest order to the lowest, are all slaves to their nature, as he says, “These natural jobs cannot be shirked.” However, the second type of slavey is the worst form according to the playwright. It is the slavery of Man to Man. The type of slavery where we let someone else take the upper hand and let them shift the weight of their slavery to our shoulders. It is the type of slavery where we give in the hard labour required to complete the task but the fruits of that labour are enjoyed by someone else. Thus, this form of slavery is extremely unnatural and distinctly different from slavery to Nature which is an inherent part of being human.
A second and perhaps the most important difference between both the types of slavery is that man to Nature slavery gives us comfort and joy. We find a great amount of pleasure in giving in to the demands of nature. However, the slavery of man to man is unnatural and hateful and degrading both physically and mentally. It creates class wars between the privileged and the underprivileged, between workers and capitalists. Ultimately, there can be no peace as long as this type of slavery exists. 

Ans : Nature exerts some amount of control over every living being. Human beings, as a part of nature itself, cannot shirk away from the responsibilities which nature thrust upon them. The natural urges of eating, sleeping, drinking, etc are all a part of that control which nature exerts upon us and its the first type of slavery. In our personal spheres thus, we are all slaves to nature. Even if we wanted to escape these duties, it would be physically impossible to do so and we are slaves to nature in this respect. However, in the second type of slavery i.e. man to man slavery, the control exerted on us is by an external source or a person. It remains our decision to abide or avoid that person’s dictums. Hence, in the wider political sphere, it is our decision to follow a leader or unfollow him based on our circumstances. But in the personal sphere, we are all slaves to nature and do not have much of a choice when it comes to complying with its orders. Hence, people are subjected to greater control in the personal sphere than in the wider political sphere. 

Ans : G.B. Shaw has debunked quite a few misconceptions about freedom in this work. He starts the essay with the very question which drives home the theme of the essay very clearly, “What is a perfectly free person?”. According to Shaw, no person is entirely free. He is either dominated by nature or by another man. The nature to man slavery consists of our inherent desires and needs and instincts which we cannot shirk away. It is a part of who we are. Thus, the first misconception that an individual can be completely free is debunked here.
Secondly, Shaw talks about democracy and the freedom it really holds. In any democracy, freedom is an important aspect. However, the rulers or the leaders seek to twist that to their own needs. They have convinced rather fooled the masses that through their right to vote and elect, the rulers ruling over them have been their own choice. They succeed in fooling the masses that through democracy, they exercise power over themselves. But in reality, the candidates chosen in the election are mere acquaintances of the rulers themselves. The freedom of choice between the candidates is not really choice because whoever is chosen would be from the ruling class influenced by the rich who will work according to the whims and fancies of the ruling class. The masses would not be benefited in any way. Thus, he debunked the concept of freedom in democracy as a farce. 

Ans : J. Krishnamurthy believed that the concepts of freedom and discipline are contradictory to one another. Discipline tends to bind an individual within certain restraints of tradition and morality. When bound by such restraints, true freedom can never be achieved. Discipline is imposed upon individuals by an external force. As such, the individual is not allowed to question the traditions. Without questioning, experimenting and free-thinking, there cannot be intellectual development and sensitivity and thus, true freedom can never be achieved. We become robotic, unable to empathize or be sensitive to the struggles of other individuals. Without questioning, we simply give in to the traditions mindlessly and there is no intellectual growth in following something blindly. And without any intellectual growth, there can never be freedom. Thus, the concepts of freedom and discipline contradict each other. 

Ans : Questioning or inquiring about the present set of rules and traditions that our ancestors have imposed upon us, will help in developing other perspectives and lead to the functioning of our intellectual faculty. Through inquiry, we also develop sensitivity to the struggles of others. As a result, our intellectual faculty expands and we achieve more knowledge than we could have received when we were bound by traditions. This knowledge helps us achieve true freedom. Thus, instead of complying with the traditions completely, we must inquire about their relevance in order to have a broader understanding of their importance, thereby securing several perspectives and developing our intellect. This will lead us to true freedom.