In the essay Man or Sheep, Peter Cave puts into question just how free our free will is within society. Life before government rule was merely a free for all type of living, and more like a state of war. He discusses in his writing that life with government systems seems to keep things in order and benefit those who follow through in accordance to it. We may have free will to make our own choices, and with those choices could come consequences, but Cave argues that our free will is always going to be limited by a higher power.
Some of the choices talked about throughout the writing are the choices to obey the law or to disobey the law. If we choose to abide by the law and live how we are supposed to, we suffer no consequences. “We obey the law because we are scared of the consequences of disobedience, not wanting to risk fines and imprisonment. The rational thing to do, given the aim of getting on with our lives as best we can, is to obey” (Cave, 961-962). And yet if we use this free will that we supposedly have, and…show more content… Before the decision to create a more structured society, people were not faced with these decisions to do right or wrong. “In a state of nature, individuals would be in constant conflict or, at least, always on guard, insecure, and ready for battle. The state of nature, of life pre-government, is a state of war” (961). They were free to do as they pleased with no restrictions. But the people would decide that is was time to change that way of life, “They would come together and agree on a sovereign, an absolute authority, to represent and rule over them, giving them security and opportunity to lead reasonable lives” (961). The justification system that was put in place by our fore fathers gave society structure. And now today we are free to make our decisions, but restricted in certain aspects to maintain the structure and security so that we may live