FREEDOM

ACTIVITY:
 Let’s Ponder:
Read and analyze the following quotes

I am free, no matter what rules

surround me. If I find them tolerable, I
tolerable, I tolerate them, if I find them
obnoxious, I break free because I know
I alone am morally responsible for
everything I do. – Robert A. Heinlein
 The really important kind of
freedom involves attention, and
awareness, and discipline, and
effort, and being able truly to care
about other people and to sacrifice
for them, over and over, in myriad
pretty little unsexy ways, every day.
David Foster Wallace
 Freedom is not advanced in the permissive
society, which confuse freedom with license to
do anything whatever and which in the name
of freedom proclaim a kind general amorality. It
is a caricature of freedom to claim that people
are free to organize their lives with no
reference to moral values, and to say that
society does not have to ensure the protection
and advancement of ethical values. Such an
attitude is destructive of freedom and peace.
Pope John Paul II
ANALYSIS:
1. How is freedom defined in the
quotes?
2. Which idea regarding freedom is
acceptable to you?
3. If you were to make your own
definition of “freedom” what will it
be?
Fill out the box with your ideas and reactions to
the statement
I AM FREE BECAUSE……
ABSTRACTION:
What is Freedom?

Freedom or Liberty – a social

and political concept which has
great significance in how people
participate in society.
-Emerged as an important
philosophical issue in 18th–
century Europe during the Age of
Enlightenment.
-Intellectuals pondered on the
origins of society and the state and
the nature of human freedom.
-Enlightenment thinkers believed
that early man existed in a “natural
state” and had absolute freedom.
-However, the established of
societies required people to
surrender some of their freedoms in
order to live in harmony with others
and ensure the survival of society.
- In stablishing society, people entered
into a “social contract” which defined
the freedoms that they will be enjoying
as members of a society and the state.
Freedom in a political and social
context means the freedom of an
individuals from oppression,
compulsion, or coercion from other
persons, an authority figure, or from
society itself.
Political freedom consists of two type of
liberties.
Positive liberty - refers to a person
taking control of his or her own life and
fulfilling one’s potential.

Negative liberty - is freedom from

external restrain, barriers, and other
inferences from other people.
LIBERALISM – upholds the preservation of
individuals rights and stresses the role of
the government in protecting civil
liberties.

- Believes that the individual, not the

government, is the best judge in
upholding and exercising rights.
SOCIALISM - considers freedom as
the freedom to acquire economic
responses and the ability to work and
act according to one’s desires.

Person’s Rights
1. Natural rights
2. Legal rights
Natural Rights – refer to rights which
are innate in the person such as the
rights to life.
Legal Rights – are rights that are base
on society’s customs and laws, and are
enacted by legislation and enforced by
a government.
Theological Views
- Defines freedom as freedom from sin
and living a life of righteousness.
Christians defines freedom in the
context of living in accordance with the
will of God.
What makes us free? How does
freedom shape our experience?
Human Agency – refers to the
capacity of a person to act and exert
control over his or her behavior.
Free will – which is the capacity to
choose from alternative courses of
action or decision
Free action – the freedom to perform
an action without any obstacles or
hindrances.

Faculties model – refers to free will as

the use of our mental faculties.
- It assumes that we have free will due
to intellect and that each human action
is based on rationality and sound
judgement.
Ex: A student deciding to participate
actively in class to improve his or her
grades indicates that he or she uses
judgement to implement an action, thus
exercising free will.
Hierarchical model argues that free
will is based on human wants and
desires.

Wants and Desire

- A person exercises free will when he

identifies one desire as acceptable and
decide to act on it.
A newly-graduated high school
students who decides to pursue either
Engineering or Medicine in college is
exercising free will.
Should he choose Medicine, he must
want to become a doctor.
Reasons-responsive view – believes
that man has free will because he is
able to entertain reasons not to enact a
certain decision and act upon them
when the need arises.
Ex: A person decides to cross the street
but sees a car rapidly approaching.
He or she exercise free will by choosing
not to cross the street and allow the
speeding car to pass.
What can prevent us from exercising
our freedom

Constraints on free action include

external obstacles such as:
1. Prohibitions
2. Laws
3. Social controls
External factors that may restrict free
action includes:
1. Weather
2. Accidents
3. Poverty
Constraints on free will includes certain
methods that cloud a person’s
judgement such as manipulation and
brainstorming.
Determinism – is a philosophical view
that believes that every event in the
world is brought about by underlying
causes or factors.
If a man is indeed free, how can
he exercise his free will and
action in a world where events
are already determined by
outside forces?
 Free will and Determinism

Free will being exercised in a

deterministic scenario is how
people deal with things that
are “outside their control”
Factors to consider:

1. Influence in society
2. Socioeconomic situation
3. Culture
4. People
5. Community
Marxist Philosophy - believes
that society imposes certain
controls on people, and that a
person’s social group largely
influences how he think or acts.
How can we effectively exercise
freedom in our life?
Moral Responsibility – refers to
a person’s status of deserving
praise and reward, or blame and
punishment for an action.
Christian doctrine establishes that
all good, moral actions will result in
rewards such as blessing and
salvation, while evil deeds merit
punishment both in this world and in
the afterlife.
APPLICATION:
1. Which do you believe is more
important – individual freedom or
the general welfare of society?
2. In what situation can freedom be
“abused”? In those cases, would it
be acceptable to restrict those
freedom?
3. How can we use our free will to
ensure that actions are morally
responsible?