LESSON 5 - FREEDOM OF THE HUMAN
F Hegel
EXPRESSION
Free will
a kind of power to control one’s
choices and actions that are up to her:
i. up to her in the sense that she is
able to choose otherwise, or at
minimum that she is able not to
choose or act as she does, and
ii. up to her in the sense that she is
the source of her action
asserts that there are things in the
universe which do not have
antecedent causes
Rejects the concept of determinism.
Freedom
The right of a person to do whatever
s/he pleases to do without constraint.
associated with freedom of speech
and expression
is synonymous to liberty or
independence
Notions of Freedom
1) Political Freedom
the right and capacity of citizens
to do their courses of actions
2) Physical Freedom
enjoys to move physically
the possibility to go and do what
s/he wants
3) Freedom of Thought
cannot be taken away even one is
imprisoned, tortured, or
commanded.
one is forever to think
The Significance of Freedom
G.W.
 According to Hegel, people’s concept of
freedom plays a significant role in their
lives
 The improvement in the understanding
and interpretation of freedom does not
only positively affect the discipline of
philosophy, but also the lives of the
people in terms of how they establish
and build their societies.
Freedom of Expression
 Limits of Free Speech
 Moral Problems of Free
 Speech: harassment, threat, faulty
opinion, etc.
 Critique vs Censorship
 Pornography as Free Speech?
 The Cost and Defense of Free Speech.
Determinism
it is often called as the metaphysical
view of the nature of things
everything determined or known by
antecedent causes
construed as something that rules out
free will.
a. Hard Determinism
o every human action and choice is
the inevitable result of a set of
causes, which totally eliminate
the possibility of human freedom
b. Soft Determinism
o there are many external factors
that influence our decisions, but
an element of freedom still
remains
Freedom and Existentialism
 Is a kind of philosophy that highlights
human existence, human freedom,
and choice.
The core of this philosophy is
anchored on the question of human
existence
EXISTENTIALIST: believes that a
person is free and should take full
responsibility for his/her own action.
holds the contention of complete
rejection of determinism
"Man is condemned to be free; because once
thrown into the world, he is responsible for
everything he does." - Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Sarte
A known existentialist who explores
the true meaning of freedom and
viewed it as the ability to choose
He associated essence to human
nature
Claims that a person is not an object,
but is a subject.
Existentialism is Humanism (1946)
Sartre contended that all human
beings, having consciousness and
free will, have freedom of choice;
there is no fixed human nature, only
human conditions
a. choice - the act of making
choices or decisions
b. consequence - the result or effect
of choices or actions
Freedom as a Political Concept: Liberty
Being political animals, humans
were able to establish their society
Filipinos adhere to the principle of
democracy where freedom in all its
functions and extensions is very
much enjoyed by the people
Freedom is one’s fundamental right
a. Negative Freedom
 Negative: we are free from
external obstacles and
domination, or "chains."
 But our individual goals
sometimes conflict or lead to
the domination of others
b. Positive Freedom
 Positive: we are free to
control our own destiny and
choose our own goals.
 When our own positive
freedom leads to a decrease
in others; negative freedom,
it becomes oppression
The fundamental sense of freedom is
freedom from chains.
"Liberty for the wolves is death to the
lambs." - Isaiah Berlin's Two Concepts of
Liberty (1958)
LESSON 6 - INTERSUBJECTIVITY
“Humanity is greater than status”
Intersubjectivity
refers to interhuman encounter
It also entails one's acceptance of the
individuality of an entirely different
person. (Acceptance)
viewed as how people interact with
others & how others influence them
 to become someone in the truest &
sincerest sense of word
sharing of subjective states
(emotions, feelings, thoughts,
qualia...)
among other persons
 dialogue
 empathy
 responsibility
Edmund Husserl
Intersubjective plays a significant role in
the framework of a person as both an
objectively existing & experiencing
subject.
He also argued that interhuman
experience is an empathic experience.
Dialogue
 Intentionality -
directedness/awareness
 Epoche: bracketing or suspension
of judgment
Martin Buber
He believes that our relationships
with others identify who we are.
A person is never an isolated atom,
but always a person in relation.
Explained the two types of relation:
I-it & I-thou
Empathy
 Intersubjectivity as a dialogical
 Subject versus Object
3 Interpersonal Relationships
o I relate to others as
it/thing/means but not an end
o Limited, fragmented, distant,
partial
o treats a person as an object
3) I-thou
o a relationship of togetherness
o No distance or wall.
o treats a person as another subject
- with mutual and reciprocal
connection
From Time and the Other (1979)
"If one could possess, grasp, and know the
other, it would not be other." - Emmanuel
Levinas
Responsibility
 Reciprocity is not our responsibility.
Immanence
Thought of; reflection; theorizing;
introspection
Transcendence
thought for; love; responsibility

1) I-I
o the other as an
extension/likeliness of one's self
2) I-it
Karol Wojtyla (Pope John Paul II)
Participation is not just interaction; it
is related to one's experience of acting
together with other persons.
When people act together with others,
they consider a common purpose as a
good that is common to all - the
common good. (I-We)
Accepting Other People's Differences -
People naturally have different orientations
in viewing cultures apart from their own
Ethnocentric - views his/her own culture as
the center of all cultures.
Xenocentric - who sees his/her culture as
inferior to another.
Tolerance & dialogue are musts in the quest
for accepting other people's differences.
Responsibility to the 'Other'
o Infinite responsibility to the 'Other' is
holy
o Forgiveness is an embodiment of
ethical responsibility to 'Other'
o Infinite responsibility is spontaneous
Love
o "To love is to exist as if the lover and
the loved one were alone in the
world."
o Love without concupiscence
o Love that is:
 selfless,
 does not demand
 reciprocity
 disinterested
 transcendent
"We are all responsible for everyone else -
but I am more responsible than all the
others." - Fyodor Dostoevsky, The
Brothers Karamazov
LESSON 7 - SOCIETY AND THE
HUMAN PERSON
The Individual and Society
o Society is defined as a lasting social
group whose members have developed
organized patters of relationships
through interaction with one another
o An individual needs society for survival
as his internal capacities are honed,
developed, and nurtured only in society
The Individual and the Social Contract
Theory
o Three classical philosophers, namely
Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean
Jacques Rousseau have different
conceptions of his primordial “contract”.
1) Thomas Hobbes
He claims that man created a
government and surrendered his
several rights and freedom out of
fear - fear of death
Proposed the ideal state and
government for man
He proposed the idea of the
“artificial man” where he
described the political entity such
as a state or a nation with
reference to the human body as a
model.
2) John Locke
 Conceived the idea that a
person’s nature is happy,
reasonable, and tolerant.
The government was created
under a social contract and
was given the responsibility
to uphold the natural law and
guaranteed the rights
proceeding from such law
He developed the notion that
in the direst of circumstances,
the people have a right and
moral obligation to
overthrow a corrupt
government.
3) Jean-Jacques Rousseau
“Men are born free, yet
everywhere they are in
chains.”
The civil society did nothing
to ensure the observance
equality and imposition of
individual liberty which by
implication must be given to
a person by virtue of the
social contract
The only legitimate
government is one which was
established by the people
themselves who entered into
a social contract for purposes
of their mutual preservation
Interpreted the social contract
as an answer to the
inequalities and injustices
that sprung from early
societies
Man and Social System
o A social system is the interaction of two
or more individuals in a bordered
situation
o A certain social system operates on the
basis of norms and standards shaped by
its members
o Social system exists within a family, a
team, a political party, or any social
structure where individuals could share
common interests and sentiments.
Elements of Social System
Forms of Society
o Human relations often vary
depending upon a form of society
where a person belongs
1) Nomadic Society
o Characterized by animal-hunting,
fishing, and plant or fruit gathering
2) Pastoral Societies
o Based on the domestication of
animals
3) Horticultural Societies
o Relied on the cultivation of plants,
fruits, and vegetables
4) Agricultural Societies
o Advancement of technology was
already utilized especially in the
cultivation of crops and raising farm
animals
5) Industrial Societies
 o Bigger communities began inventing
mechanized factories for food
production
6) Post-industrial Societies
o This era of technological
advancement paved the way for the
rapid development in science and
research
7) Virtual Society
o Humans are known as the
cyberspace. This society was made
possible by an enhanced
telecommunication system and well-
advanced computer technology.
LESSON 8 – LIFE AND DEATH
Death - The end of life, the physical
cessation of life.
Two approaches:
 Metaphysical kinds: when can we say
that human person is dead?
 Existential kinds: what are the features
of death as a human possibility?
Medical views about Death
a. Cardiopulmonary approach
o a person is dead when his heart and
lungs, the person ’s cardiopulmonary
organs, have irreversibly ceased to
function
b. Higher-brain approach
o a person is dead when his/her upper
brain has irreversibly ceased to
function. Example: persistent
vegetative state and permanent coma
c. Whole brain approach
o a person is dead when his or her
entire brain (both higher brain and
lower brain) has irreversibly ceased
to function.
Why is it important to properly define
"death"?
 RA 7170 (Organ Donation Act), defines
death as “the irreversible cessation of
circulatory and respiratory functions or
the irreversible cessation of all functions
of the entire brain, including the brain
stem."
Religious views about Death
a. Christian view on death
o Christians believe in the afterlife and
in the idea of heaven and hell. This is
the reason why Christians call death
as judgment day
o Christians are encouraged to live by
the teachings of Jesus and of the
Bible in order to enter the kingdom
of heaven.
b. Buddhism View
o Buddhism adheres to the concept of
reincarnation and transmigration of
the spirit (a concept where a living
being is reborn to a different physical
body after death).
A person can be reborn in one of the six
realms or worlds, namely:
1) Heaven – a world of peace and long
lasting happiness;
2) Humans – a world where human
beings thrive;
3) Asura – a spiritual realm
characterized by strife and never-
ending fight;
 4) Hungry ghosts or spirits – also a
spiritual realm characterized by
dissatisfaction and discontent;
5) Animals – a realm similar to
humans, except that those who were
reborn in this state are inferior to
human beings and are always hunted
by the latter.; and
6) Hell – which is considered as the
world of eternal suffering and pain.
c. Hindu View
o Death in Hinduism is a journey that
begins when life has already taught
the soul the lessons it needs to learn,
and karma has reached a certain level
of intensity
o Death is not an end in itself, but part
of the natural process in the
existence of the soul as one separate
entity
o The act of suicide is considered a
chief and highest immoral act that
could be committed by a person.

Five elements of the body

1) Air
2) Water
3) Fire
4) Earth
5) Ether – belonging to higher realm

“I have to die. If it is now, well then I die

now; if later, then now I will take my lunch,
since the hour for lunch has arrived.” -
Epictetus