Freedom of the Human Person

In this module you will be able to

 Evaluate and exercise prudence (the virtue that enables us
to make proper choices) in choices

 Realize that:
a. Choices have consequences
b. Some things are given up while others are obtained in
making choices

 Show situations that demonstrate freedom of choice and

the consequences of their choices
What is freedom?
 Freedom
- synonymous to liberty or independence
- the right of a person to do whatever he/she pleases to do, for
as long as his/her conduct or actions are within the bounds set
by law
- associated with freedom of expression, freedom of speech

- in philosophy, putting certain limits of the said freedom

within proper perspectives
Determinism: Undermining Free Choice
It is usually construed as something that rules out
free will because it claims that humans do not have
a choice as their future has already been
predetermined.

No human action is considered free or voluntary because

every action is causally determined.
Determinism: Undermining Free Choice
In Causal Determinism, Carl Hoefer stated that “the
world is governed by determinism if and only if,
given a specified way things are at a time, the way
things go thereafter is fixed as a matter of natural
law.”
No human action is considered free or voluntary because every
action is causally determined.
Causal Determinism
This view suggests that a determinate set of conditions can
produce only one possible outcome given the laws of nature.
Determinism has a direct implication on human actions. This is the same
with choices, as events will imply that no other choice is possible except for
that one choice a person is determined to choose.

It is incompatible with the notion of free will because it can undermine free
choice if past events will be revealed as the cause of future actions and not
really chosen by the individual as a free agent. Will the individual still find
his or her choice valuable if he or she discovers that it is caused by an event
outside his or her autonomy?
Determinism: Undermining Free Choice
Physical Determinism claims that since
the body is physical, every event
involving the body is determined.
Physical Determinism
In this view, given set of determinate conditions in the
brain and the laws of nature, bodily movements are
casually determined.

The state of the brain immediately before a decision is

made is what makes the person do a certain act,and
that decision is the only possible outcome at the
particular moment when the action is done.
Value of Choices in Relation to Freedom
Freedom involves choice. It is man’s capacity to do
otherwise. Humanity without the capacity to choose is
a pawn to whoever or whatever nature allows to
happen.
*If human beings have no capacity to choose, which
means that they are determined, then this seems to
reduce the value and dignity of man, because it shows
that man cannot control the situations around him.
Value of Choices in Relation to Freedom
*When man cannot choose, he tends to believe that he
cannot be made responsible for the choices he makes because
his actions are not from a deliberate act of choosing but a
causal connection between events beyond his control.

*If human beings are determined, life seems to be futile or

even absurd, because they live to simply go with the flow, with
what the law of nature dictates. Whatever action they
‘choose” is not really a choice but it is what nature dictates.
Nature of the Choices We Made
Making a choice seems to feel like there are various reasons
for and against doing each of the alternative actions or
courses of action one is considering, and it seems and it feels
as if one could do anyone of these alternatives.

When you are choosing, the act involves not only weighing the
reasons but giving weight to reasons. After you have chosen
each alternative, you will realize that some considerations
carry more weight than others. You choose one alternative
and discard the other.
Tracking Bestness
To investigate an act’s tracking of “bestness” is supposed to
acquire the consequence of the indeterminist fee choice.
Taking into consideration the act of choosing: if an act is not
best for you, you will not do it; but if it is, then you will do it.

How do you know that your choice of an action is right? The concept of
rightness is attributed to an act done based on morality. The weight of
rightness is based on a person’s moral beliefs. You need also to consider
the desire to do the right thing. You would want to align your action in
making choices to what you consider is valuable or right.
Learning Activity Sheet
(Offline Activity)