LESSON 1

Freedom of the Human Person

FREEDOM

one of the most important aspects of our nature as human beings.

FREEDOM

considered as the highest good that all persons struggle to protect

FREEDOM

one of the often abused and misunderstood term which has been a subject of countless conceptual debates and practical determinations

Essence of Freedom

Freedom is an intrinsic and essential property of the human person

ANIMAL (Freedom is an intrinsic and essential property of the human person)

act instinctively, their actions are more like predetermined
responses to certain stimuli.

MAN ( Freedom is an intrinsic and essential property of the human person)

A person can choose the course of action to take when given a stimulus or faced with a certain situation

TOTAL DETERMINISM

B.F. SKINNER

TOTAL DETERMINISM

freedom is just an illusion for in reality, man is only
conditioned to act or behave in a certain manner according to his environment.

ABSOLUTE FREEDOM

JEAN-PAUL SARTRE

ABSOLUTE FREEDOM

freedom that embraces what he could not change, and in
doing so, he creates his own meaning that enables him to transcend beyond his
limiting situation.

Freedom is understood as the power to be what you want to be and the ability to decide and create yourself (Essence of Freedom)

Many of the characteristics that define our personality are often a product of our choices

Freedom is rooted in the human person's self-determination and the exercise of intellect and will (Essence of Freedom)

A persons every action is freely determined, and these actions define him
or her

Freedom requires a degree of control from the person who exercises it (Essence of Freedom)

To lose control of oneself diminishes human freedom and dehumanizes the person

Persons who are denied their freedom by other individuals, groups, and institutions are also dehumanized (Essence of Freedom)

Prisoners

more free

A person becomes ________ _______when he
or she exercises control over himself
or herself.

less free

A person becomes _____ ______ when
he or she is no longer in control of
himself or herself and is instead
controlled by other forces.

EPICURUS, PLATO, ARISTOTLE

Freedom as defined by Greek Philosophers

EPICURUS (Freedom)

Human free will is a power to choose and since humans have this capability, they should use it to fulfill their desires.

PLATO (Freedom)

He described free will as the ability to pursue reason’s desires over the soul’s uncontrollable desires.

ARISTOTLE (Freedom)

Free will should be controlled by those who are virtuous to prevent the dehumanization of people

VOLUNTARY ACTIONS

Acts originating from the individual
performing the act using knowledge
about the situations of the act.

Voluntary (Voluntary Actions)

Actions are performed from will and reason.

Related to Compulsion (Voluntary Actions)

It is considered as mixed of voluntary and involuntary. It is more voluntary if the desire and choice has been performed and involuntary if it has considered preferences or alternatives.

Under Compulsion (Involuntary Actions)

Circumstances which are
beyond the control of the
agent and contribute non to
the action.

(Involuntary Actions)

Through Ignorance of Particular
Circumstances

INVOLUNTARY ACTIONS

Acts done under force or coercion, and
ignorance where the doer failed to
understand the effect and feels sorry
on the result

FOR PLATO AND ARISTOTLE, free will or freedom is the ability to rule over one’s desire through _______ and ________.

reason and virtue

RENE DESCARTES, THOMAS HOBBES, DAVID HUME, ISAIAH BERLIN

Freedom as defined by Modern Philosophers

Without belief in free will, there would be little reason for us to act
morally

Modern philosophers came up with two unified assumptions. Which one is the FIRST?

Free will seems difficult to reconcile with what we know about the world.

Modern philosophers came up with two unified assumptions. Which one is the SECOND?

RENE DESCARTES (freedom)

Freedom is possible only as an aspect of mind, which is undetermined and categorically separate from the body

THOMAS HOBBES (freedom)

Freedom is the ability of an individual to act freely when he does what he wants to do or he realizes what he sees as being beneficial to him.

DAVID HUME (freedom)

Although some of our actions as humans are causally determined, they are not forced actions.

ISAIAH BERLIN (freedom)

There are two types of freedom: positive freedom and negative freedom.

POSITIVE FREEDOM

Human person's ability to exercise independent actions based on an individual's judgment (what is true or false claims and right or wrong actions)

NEGATIVE FREEDOM

The absence of any constraints, hindrances and limitations in the achievement of an individual's life plans and goals.

FREEDOM

Both an intrinsic and extrinsic property of a human being.

Intrinsic (freedom)

it begins in one's consciousness wherein one's reasons
and decisions are formulated

Extrinsic (freedom)

it continues to be manifested externally through one's
actions.

Intellectual Freedom (Types of Freedom)

ability to control one's desires by letting one's intellect or reason rule over.

Moral & Spiritual Freedom (Types of Freedom)

Ability to choose, pursue and do what is right over what one wants to do with love acting as a guiding principle towards people's achievement of happiness

Individual Freedom (Types of Freedom)

JEAN-PAUL SARTRE- Humans possess individual freedom because they have the capability to choose what they want to do with their lives

Political Freedom (Types of Freedom)

Ability to participate in the matters of the state such as exercising one’s rights.

ARISTOTLE (Intellectual Freedom)

Humans are rational animals due to this they have the capability to have intellectual freedom.

The Power of Volition

It is within the power of everyone to be good or bad, worthy or worthless

The Power of Volition

Reason, will and action drive each other. Meaning, people think and provide reasons for their action, then they decide to enact an action.

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS (Moral & Spiritual Freedom)

Humans are moral agent that acts upon the feelings of love. Love is freedom in itself

JEAN-PAUL SARTRE (Individual Freedom)

"Existence precedes essence": he has the ability to choose what the purpose of his life will be and the course that his life will take.

THOMAS HOBBES (Political Freedom)

Thought that to end the continuous and self-destructive condition of warfare, humanity founded the state with its sovereign power to control by means of a mutual consent.

JEANS-JACQUES ROUSSEAU (Political Freedom)

Believed that a human being is born free and good. Human beings are in chains and have become bad due to the evil influence of society, civilization, learning, and progress. Hence, from these come dissension, conflict, fraud and deceit. Therefore, a human being lost his original goodness, his primitive tranquility of spirit

social contact

way of looking at a society of voluntary collection of
agreeable individuals. There must be a common power or government which the plurality of individuals (citizens) should confer all the powers and the strength into (freedom) one will.

Social Contract Theory

the people and the government should
establish a contract wherein the people would give up some of their rights and the government would protect these rights in return.

overthrow

The people have the power to __________ the government and create a new one, if the government fails to do its responsibility to protect the people’s rights

VOLUNTARINESS

ability of a person to act out of his or her own free will and self-determination

VOLUNTARINESS

a person may decide to act or not to act, and these decisions are made from his or her own free will

VOLUNTARINESS

a person may act even if he or she is not required or called to act

VOLUNTARINESS

acts which can be assigned a corresponding moral value.

RESPONSIBILITY

being accountable for actions and its consequences - either a person voluntarily taking responsibility for an action, or being held responsible by other people.

RESPONSIBILITY

can also have a positive and negative meaning, and it goes hand-in-hand with voluntariness in determining the morality of an action.

Voluntariness and responsibility

____________ and ___________ go together in determining a person's
freedom.

diminished

Without these two elements, human freedom is _________, and the person makes imperfect actions and unwise decisions which may have negative effects on the self and others.

Human freedom should be exercised with control anda recognition of reasonable limits (exercising freedom beneficially)

We set limits to our own freedom and learn to moderate or control our thoughts, emotions, and actions depending on the situation. A person can even choose to limit his or her own freedom or even surrender it entirely if it will result in greater benefits.

Human freedom should be exercised with control anda recognition of reasonable limits (exercising freedom beneficially)

Limiting our personal freedom requires us to sacrifice certain self interests and accept certain realities that are beyond our control. Our sense of right and wrong guides us in recognizing and deciding these limitations to our freedom.

Freedom should also be exercised with regard for knowledge and truth (exercising freedom beneficially)

Determining the proper information needed before we choose the best course of action is not easy but is a necessary step to ensure that our choices, decisions, and actions are proper, reasonable, and just.

Freedom should also be exercised with regard for knowledge and truth (exercising freedom beneficially)

If we make a choice and act on false or incomplete information, we may end up making decisions which will bring harm to ourselves and others. It is therefore necessary to cultivate the intellectual virtue of prudence and use it as our guide in making sound choices.

We should also recognize and uphold not only our personal freedom, but also the freedom of others (exercising freedom beneficially)

Freedom should be exercised with due regard for the welfare of other persons and one's freedom should be exercised not as a tool to restrict the freedom of others, but to enable others to fully enjoy their own freedom.

Libertarianism

Human actions are freely chosen by an individual and one should be morally responsible for the results of those actions

Determinism

All human actions and its that is occurring or will occur has already been determined so it is an individual's job to take responsibility for his actions

Compatibilism

Libertarianism and Determinism are two compatible ideas and that it is possible to apply both beliefs without being logically inconsistent.

PRUDENCE

ability to govern and discipline one's self with the use of reason

PRUDENCE

often associated with wisdom and discernment

ARISTOTLE (prudence)

Freewill should be controlled by those who are virtuous to prevent the dehumanization of people.

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS (prudence)

He described prudence as "right reason in action”

SIDDHARTA GAUTAMA BUDDHA (prudence)

an individual can quietly and, immensely reflect on their own thoughts and actions

Why do we need to exercise prudence? (1)

It can help us see the right thing to do and to choose the right means for achieving it.

Why do we need to exercise prudence? (2)

It is a way to practice our good moral principles by applying it in particular situations in order to know what to seek and what to avoid.

Why do we need to exercise prudence? (3)

It is necessary in seeking the common good for all as it provides us with a broader view of situations.

Why do we need to exercise prudence? (4)

It helps us see what helps in our development and what hinders our progress.

Why do we need to exercise prudence? (5)

It makes us more aware of our actions and the consequences that come with it.