The compelling case, as you say, is simply that we can find ourselves for various reasons choosing to resist conditioning and conformity. And this resistance ca

The compelling case, as you say, is simply that we can find ourselves for various reasons choosing to resist conditioning and conformity. And this resistance can be enlightening to the individual and to broader society. The personal search (self-examination) can of course be beneficial. There's no need to slip into nebulous metaphysics to understand that any challenge to a power structure may have an enlightened outcome or a disastrous outcome. The article is hagiographic and is reaching for something deep, but this passage is perhaps the essence: "But for Arendt, the will was the means to our freedom [...] The will is a space of tension inside the self where one actively feels the difference between where they are and where they would like to be. [...] "Willing is the mental activity that goes on between thinking and judgment. It has the power to shape us by drawing us into conflict with ourselves. Without inner conflict, there is no forward movement. These are the basic principles of willing: Willing is characterised by an inner state of disharmony. Willing is experienced as a felt sense of tension within the body where the mind is at war with itself. Willing makes one aware of possible decisions, which creates a feeling of being pulled in multiple directions at once. Willing can feel very lonely. Decisions and choices are shaped by one’s environment, by the everydayness of being, but ultimately the responsibility for deciding is up to oneself. Willing makes one aware of the tension that exists between oneself as a part of the world, and oneself as an individual alone existing in relationship to the world. Willing is the principle of human individuation. Willing relates to the world through action. The will is the inner organ of freedom. "