Lesson 5: Freedom of the Human Person

What is Freedom? What is the essence of freedom?

Freedom is an intrinsic and essential property of the person. This means that the human person by
nature is a free being and that is in his or her nature to seek freedom. An important indication of human
freedom is the ability to make choices and perform actions. Our freedom to act sets us apart from other
beings.

Let’s compare how animals and human persons behave to get a better understanding of freedom. We
see some animals behave like human beings because they seem to perform actions in response to
commands. A well- trained dog can perform certain tasks on command such as “stay” or “fetch” because
it has been trained and conditioned to perform them. The same cannot be said about human beings.
You cannot just approach a stranger, toss him or her ball, and say “Fetch!” Surely, you will be met with
curious and suspicious stares. A person will not respond automatically to the command to “Fetch!”
because he or she is not conditioned to obey like a dog.

The human person does not experience the world in the same way that animals do. Animals act
instinctively, meaning, their actions are more like predetermined responses to certain stimuli. A person,
on the other hand, can choose the course of action to take when given a stimulus or faced with a certain
situation. You expect your dog to always respond in the same way to your commands. With us humans,
our inherent freedom makes us very dynamic creatures and our actions do not necessarily follow a set
pattern or a pre- determined course. Your mother may ask you to clean your room one day and you will
follow her instruction. The following week, however, you may decide not to clean your room when told
because you feel lazy. The week after, you may decide to clean your room without even being bold.
These varied actions indicate that you are exercising your freedom.

Freedom is also understood as the power to be what you want to be and the ability to decide and create
yourself. You may have a good idea of your personal identity at this point of your life. Though we have
certain inherent traits such as physical attributes and temperament, many of the characteristics that
define our personality are often a product of our choices. Our talents, for instance, are developed to
their fullest only if we choose to dedicate time and effort to improve them. Our preferences and views
are other aspects of our personality that we freely adopt. You may have also imagined yourself as a
successful professional in the future. Your freedom, meanwhile, gives you the ability to strive to achieve
that goal. Freedom is rooted in the human person’s self- determination and the exercise of intellect
and free will. This means that a person’s every action is freely determined and these actions define him
or her. We can freely choose to be a good person and to act in a good way. A good act makes a person
better while its opposite has a negative impact on him or her as a person. This is the nature of self-
determination: that a person’s actions determine what kind of person he or she becomes.

Look at the situation below. Samuel is carrying a heavy load of books along the hallway when he
suddenly loses his balance and drops all the books.