ETHICS

LECTURE HANDOUTS
JUNE 2020

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

ETH101 LECTURES/HANDOUTS
1ST SEMESTER 2020-2021

LECTURE HANDOUT 4- FREEDOM AS FOUNDATION OF MORAL ACTS

OBJECTIVES:

At the end of lecture handout 4, the student will be able:

 understand the basic tenets why only human beings can be ethical
 know the philosophical insights on freedom

When talking about freedom and responsibility, aren’t these contrasting words?
Freedom connotes no ties, no hindrance, no blocks. Responsibility connotes doing
something, not because you want to but because it is expected of you. There are
Eastern and Western philosophers who viewed that responsibility follows freedom.
What does this mean?

Only Human Beings Can Be Ethical

Another basic tenet in ethics is the belief that only human beings can be truly
ethical. Most philosophers hold that unlike animals, human beings possess some traits
that make it possible for them to be moral:

A. Only human beings are rational, autonomous, and self-conscious. The qualities
of rationality, autonomy, and self-consciousness are believed to confer a full and
equal moral status to those that possess them as these beings are the only ones
capable of achieving certain values and goods. For instance, in order to attain
the kind of dignity and self-respect that human beings have, a being must be able
to conceive of itself as one among many, and must be able to consciously select
his actions rather than be led by blind instinct.

B. Only human beings can act morally or immorally. Strictly speaking, an animal
which devours another animal cannot be said to be immoral. In the same
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JUNE 2020

manner, no matter how good an animal’s action seems to be, it cannot be

technically said to be moral. Only human beings can act morally or immorally.
This is important in Ethics because only beings that can act morally can be
required to sacrifice their interests for the sake of others. Not able to truly act
morally, animals could not really sacrifice their own good for the sake of others,
but would even pursue their good at the expense of others.

C. Only human beings are part of the moral community. The so-called moral
community is not defined in terms of the intrinsic properties that beings have, but
rather in terms of the essential social relations that exists between or among
beings. Distinctively, only human beings can possess or practice values such as
love, honor, social relationships, forgiveness, compassion, and altruism.
Moreover, only human beings can communicate with each other in truly
meaningful ways, can engage in economic, political, and familial relationships
with each other, and can also form deep personal relationships with each other.
These kinds of relationships require the members of such relationships to extend
real concern to other members of these relationships in order for the relationships
to continue. Another thing human beings have that no animal has is the ability to
participate in a collective cognition. That is, we, as individuals, are able to draw on
the collective knowledge of humanity in a way no animal can.
Freedom as a Foundation of Morality

As explained above, one of the reasons animals cannot be truly ethical is

that they are not really autonomous or free. Likewise, a robot, no matter how
beneficial its functions may be, cannot be said to be moral, for it has no freedom
or choice but to work according to what is commanded based on its built-in
program.
Basically, morality is a question of choice. Morality, practically, is choosing
ethical codes, values, or standards to guide us in our daily lives. Philosophically,
choosing is impossible without freedom.
Morality requires and allows choice, which means the right to choose even
differently from our fellows. In their daily lives, people make the choice to give to
charities, donate time and money to schools, mentor and children, open
businesses, or protest against animal cruelty.
Everyone who wishes to function morally or rationally in a society has to
make choices virtually every minute of the day. Practically, the sum of our
choices can be said to define our specific ‘morality.’ Applicably, using the
government or one’s culture to coerce people to behave in a certain way is not
morality but the antithesis of morality. This principle in ethics applies even when
the motive is pure.

Philosophical Insights on Freedom

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is not an infringement of copyright. These lecture handouts are prepared and compiled solely as lecture guide for the 2
course- ETHICS SY 2020- 2021- NOT for REPRODUCTION and NOT for DISTRIBUTION
ETHICS
LECTURE HANDOUTS
JUNE 2020

1. Freedom is a Gift
According to Gabriel Marcel, freedom is the ability to act significantly. Free
acts are significant because they help to make us who we are as human
beings. Freedom is not merely the ability to make arbitrary choices because
we are not free if everything that we can choose to do is insignificant in the
first place. Freedom is the ability to make significant choices and, according
to Marcel, it is gift given to us by God.

2. Freedom is Complementary to Reason

One of Aristotle’s ethical doctrines asserted that freedom and reason are
complementary. In Aristotle’s view, the human person as a moral agent
must exercise practical rationality in order to determine how to pursue his
or her ultimate end. Self- direction, rather than bare spontaneity, is the
crucial characteristic of the free person. Aristotle considered freedom and
reason as necessary faculties for consciously making sense of things
( events, occurrences, phenomena, situations).

3. Freedom is Absolute
Existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Satre’s concept of freedom is not the
freedom to do something or anything. In Sartre’s view, the human person is
“absolutely free”. Freedom sets the human person apart from other creatures.
You might say “But what about animal freedom? Animals- unless caged- are
also free. Animals just roam around, eat when they need to, and sleep where
they want. Animals are not tied down with responsibilities like humans.” Yes,
it is true that animals are- unless caged- free. In fact, animals also have a
notion of freedom. When they are caged, animals will try to escape from their
cages. This kind of freedom is called freedom from restrictions. It is a primitive
kind of freedom. It is freedom for mere survival.
Humans, on the other hand, have higher kind of freedom. The freedom of
the human person is beyond freedom from restrictions. In fact, a person in jail
is still free. He is free to think, to change, and to become a better person. A
prisoner id free to redefine himself. As human persons, we are free to make
choices. We are free to decide. And we are free to use this freedom to attain
goals higher than satisfying basic needs.

4. Freedom Demands Responsibility

Jean-Paul Sartre said “You are free” because he believed a person
always has a choice, Thus, according to Sartre, you must choose. His
idea was that freedom is the capacity to choose, that even not choosing is
a choice. It is important to note however, that he also added the concept
of responsibility to freedom. According to Sartre, even though individuals
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FAIR use of a copyright work as defined in Sec. 185 of RA 8293, which states “the fair use of copyrighted work criticism,
comment, news reporting, teaching including multiple copies for classroom use, scholarship, research, and similar purposes
is not an infringement of copyright. These lecture handouts are prepared and compiled solely as lecture guide for the 3
course- ETHICS SY 2020- 2021- NOT for REPRODUCTION and NOT for DISTRIBUTION
ETHICS
LECTURE HANDOUTS
JUNE 2020

must make their own choices because they are free, these choices
(though freely made) also have consequences to it. These consequences
to freedom are something that the person must endure. Therefore, it can
be said that in Sartre’s concept, responsibility follows freedom.

Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu also discussed freedom and responsibility.

Lao Tzu advocated that a person can and should choose to act, but his or
her actions should be that which would result in harmony. Lao Tzu’s idea
was that in any society, the exercise of one’s freedom is not absolute. The
person is free to do anything; but it is not without consequence of one’s
actions. Responsibility, as a moral quality serves as voluntary check and
balance of one’s freedom. Without proper balance limitless freedom is a
dangerous as an extremely controlling social group. Great social injustices
have resulted from such radical mindsets.

End of LECTURE 4

Copyright Disclaimer
FAIR use of a copyright work as defined in Sec. 185 of RA 8293, which states “the fair use of copyrighted work criticism,
comment, news reporting, teaching including multiple copies for classroom use, scholarship, research, and similar purposes
is not an infringement of copyright. These lecture handouts are prepared and compiled solely as lecture guide for the 4
course- ETHICS SY 2020- 2021- NOT for REPRODUCTION and NOT for DISTRIBUTION