Freedom of the Human Person

Freedom

 the ability to make choices and perform those choices

 rooted in the human person’s self-determination and exercise of intellect and free will
 the power to be what we want to be and the ability to decide and create oneself
Concepts of freedom
1. Freedom itself
One’s capacity to choose what we wanted and an inner awareness of what is right and wrong that
is traced to our free will. It is an intrinsic and essential property of a human person

2. Free will
The ability to choose between different possible courses of action independently according to our
moral reasoning.
Kinds of freedom
1. Physical Freedom
 refers to the absence of any physical restraint. The person has the freedom of mobility to
go where he or she wants to go. Granted that the person has natural limitations, physical
freedom allows him or her to act and move in determined manner. Freedom allows you to
move one place to another and to go whenever you want to go.

2. Psychological Freedom
 also called freedom of choice. The person is free to perform actions that he or she
considers right and wise, and is free to act or not to act. Psychological freedom is innate
and cannot be denied to a person. No outside force or influence can compel a person to
take action against his or her will.

3. Moral Freedom
 refers to using freedom in a manner that upholds human dignity and goodness

Elements that define freedom

1. Voluntarinees
 the ability of a person to act og his or her own free will and self-determination. A person
may decide to do things or not to do it according to his own free will.

Voluntary acts are free acts which can be assigned a corresponding moral value. One
must always remember that in every action, there is an equivalent consequence.

2. Responsibility
 refers to the person being accountable for his or her actions and their consequences.
We can examine our action, habits, and behavior by asking ourselves the following questions:

 What should I do?

 Why should I do it?
 What will happen if I do it?
 How will my actions or behavior affect myself, others, and my surroundings?
 Will my actions or behavior be considered correct, proper, beneficial, and moral?
Important factors to consider in the exercise of freedom
a. Prudence
 the ability to govern and discipline oneself with the use of reason; it is having caution and
giving good judgements in making decisions

(Because once we made a decision, there is no turning back therefore we should always
reflect first on the possible outcomes of the choices we are going to make)

b. Self-reflection
 allows us to be more rational in making choices because sometimes human beings tend to
be slaves by their emotions and moods whenever they act certain things

(Exercising freedom responsibly is very important. Thus, it requires us to reflect on the

actions we are going to make by considering its possible effects and the benefits it has to
the people affected by it)

How can I exercise freedom in a responsible and beneficial?

1. Freedom should be exercised with regard for knowledge and truth
2. Freedom should be exercised to uphold the freedom of others
3. With control and reasonable limits
4. We use our freedom to act and acquire more knowledge, in order to come up with decisions and
courses of action when confronted with difficult situations
5. Freedom to live and determine one’s identity
6. Freedom from slavery and other constraints
7. Freedom of speech
8. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion

Freedom and Responsibility

Human Actions vs Acts of Man
 Human Actions – acts that are freely chosen in consequence of judgement of conscience
 Acts of Man – acts that happen “naturally” and are done without self-awareness deliberation,
reflection or consent.
Aristotle’s Distinction of Voluntary and Involuntary Actions
1. Voluntary actions
 acts originating from the individual performing the act of using knowledge about the
situation of the act

a. Voluntary – actions are performed from will and reason

b. Related to Compulsion – 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

2. Involuntary actions
 acts done under (a) force or coercion and (b) ignorance where the doer failed to
understand and feels sorry on the result

a. Under Compulsion – circumstances which are beyond the control of the agent and
contributes none to the action
Ex. A person was kidnapped, hence impossible to resist

b. Through Ignorance of Particular Circumstances

Ex. A man steals and ignorant of the law, arrow or gun shot by mistake.

Human Freedom and Obligation

Freedom and obligation are two indispensable conditions for morality to occur (John Mothershead)
 Freedom
 present when one is choosing a course of action, and he or she is taking full responsibility
for the consequences of his actions.
 this is anchored to the individual’s moral and rational capacity to discern what is right
and wrong
 “Buntot mo, hila mo!” – taking full responsibility for your actions and being obliged to
do so

 Obligation
 usually follows or arrives from freedom

Intellectual Choice vs Practical Choice

1. Practical Choice
 borne out of psychological and emotional considerations where a person makes practical
choices when confronted with the actual situations
  usually affected by psychological aspect of the person embroiled in the moral situation or
dilemma
 a person may be so engulfed by emotions that he may sometimes fail to make the right
choice. likewise, stress could make a person’s practical choice inconsistent with his
intellectual choice

2. Intellectual Choice
 a choice which is deliberately selected based on a moral standpoint
 normative answers about what we ought to do from a moral system that we uphold and its
moral principles
 these normative answers would take into consideration the behaviour which the society
will accept

Three Main Philosophical Positions on the Possibility of Human Freedom

1. Determinism
 in the case of human beings, the conditions that can determine their choices and actions
are the ff:
a. genes
b. behavioural conditioning
c. physical and social conditions of environment
Hard Determinism
 accepts determinism and further believes that determinism and freedom are incompatible,
that they cannot be true
 “no free will and no moral responsibility”
2. Libertarianism
 from Latin word “Libertas” which means “Freedom”
 rejects determinism
 believes that the individual is the best judge in upholding and exercising rights and not
the government

3. Compatibilism or soft determinism

 the human person is not forced, compelled or constrained to do actions to satisfy his or
her own desires to carry his or her own intentions

Definition of Freedom according to mentioned propositions:

1. Natural Freedom
 the absence of determinism in human choices and actions
a. Voluntary Actions – actions that are not determined or actions done to carry out free
choices
b. Involuntary Actions – actions that are determined or actions done not to carry out
free choices
 2. Social Freedom
 the absence of force, constraints, or anything that makes a person act against his or her
will or desire

Human Freedom from Different Philosophical Perspective and Freedom of Choice

Individual Freedom (Jean-Paul Sartre)

 considered to be a representative of existentialism

 existence precedes essence
 freedom is the very core and the door to authentic existence
 no one but you can decide what to do with your life
 humans are free to choose what to do and what to become
 individual consciousness is humanity’s gift – as well as its curse, since with it comes the
responsibility to shape our own lives

Theory of Social Contract (Thomas Hobbes and Jean Jacques Rousseau)

 Held that the social contract is the means by which civilized society, including
government, arises from a historically or logically pre-9existing condition of stateless
anarchy, or a “state of nature”
 the key to saving the world from chaos is the social contract
 man trades in some freedom for the benefits that come out of cooperative living
 political freedom, therefore, entails recognition of the rights and civil liberties of
individuals