ETHICS

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FREEDOM
WHY ONLY HUMAN BEINGS CAN BE ETHICAL?
 According to St. Thomas Aquinas
Animal ethics
Animal behaves instinctively
(hard-wired, inborn, characteristic
response to specific environmental
stimuli)
• The intent for self-sacrifice is more on
ensuring reproductive success rather
than true selfless motive
Altruistic behavior of social animals
FREEDOM AS FOUNDATION OF MORALITY
Human ethics
Human behaves rationally
(decision-making process where the
person acts in ways that best achieve
his/her needs in accordance wit his/her
set preference, priorities, and principles)
• Tied to moral standards
• Free to decide what to do and free
to act on his/her own decisions
 Thus, only human beings can be ethical
because of his/her capacity for free moral
judgement
FOUNDATION OF MORALITY
 According to C. S. Lewis…

Morality is like a fleet of ships

A ship is under a command of a captain

A person is someone who is free to decide his/her course

FREEDOM AS FOUNDATION OF MORALITY

 Why freedom is crucial in your ability to make moral
decision?

Virtue (personal aspect of morality)

• Your thought or behavior guided by, and displays, high moral

standards (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
• Habits developed through learning and practice
• A virtuous person characteristically act in ways consistent with
his or her moral principles that goes beyond moral behavior
which becomes a standard for everyone to follow

FREEDOM AS FOUNDATION OF MORALITY

 Why freedom is crucial in your ability to make moral
decision?

Virtue (personal aspect of morality)

• There is no virtue in self-restraint if, in the first place, you

are prohibited from indulging
• There is no virtue in giving if someone is forcing you to
give up your possessions

FREEDOM AS FOUNDATION OF MORALITY

 Freedom then, is the foundation of moral acts. For a person
to be virtuous, he or she must also be free

FREEDOM AS FOUNDATION OF MORALITY

 Why freedom is crucial in your ability to make moral
decision?

Rules (Interpersonal aspect of morality)

• Freedom is essential
• It makes a person recognize that apart from personal rights, other
people’s right are equally important
• Only when a person is free to recognize that he or she has rights;
that other people equally have rights ; and both need to be
respected will the person be able to pursue projects, be creative,
and reach his or her full potential for the benefit – not just of the
self- but also of others

FREEDOM AS FOUNDATION OF MORALITY

 Why freedom is crucial in your ability to make moral
decision?

Personal aspect of morality

• Developing virtue so that thinking morally, performing acts, and

choosing to do what is good becomes a habit

Interpersonal aspect of morality

• Rules
• Freedom is essential

FREEDOM AS FOUNDATION OF MORALITY

 The Human Person as a free Being

What does human person mean?

• a person endowed with characteristics that are

material, spiritual, rational, and free

• a being with inborn properties that he or she uses to

direct his or her own development toward self-
fulfillment (freedom is one of the inborn properties of
human person)

FREEDOM AS FOUNDATION OF MORALITY

 Activity #4

What is your understanding of freedom? Cite a scenario

in class depicting your understanding of freedom

FREEDOM AS FOUNDATION OF MORALITY

 Philosophical Insights on Freedom

Freedom is a gift

• We are free to act significantly

• Free acts are significant because they help to make us who we
are as human beings
• A gift given to us by God

FREEDOM AS FOUNDATION OF MORALITY

 Philosophical Insights on Freedom

Freedom is complementary to reason

• Freedom and reason are complementary (Aristotle)
• Human person 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

FREEDOM AS FOUNDATION OF MORALITY

 Philosophical Insights on Freedom

Freedom is absolute
• Human is absolutely free (Satre)
• Freedom sets the human person apart from other creatures
• Human freedom is beyond freedom from restrictions
• Free to make choices, to decide and to use freedom to attain goals
higher than satisfying basic needs

FREEDOM AS FOUNDATION OF MORALITY

 Philosophical Insights on Freedom

Freedom demands responsibility

• Freedom is the capacity to choose, that even not choosing is a
choice (Satre)
• Even though individuals must make their own choices because they
are free, the choices also have consequences to it
• A person can and should choose to act, but his or her actions
should be that which would result in harmony (Lao Tzu)
• Responsibility as a moral quality serves as a voluntary check and
balance of one’s freedom

FREEDOM AS FOUNDATION OF MORALITY

 After watching the film, discuss these in class:

• What was the central theme of the story?

• Which of the two makes you human? Defend your answer
a. Free to decide and do evil acts
b. Forced to become a moral person and not hurt others

FREEDOM AS FOUNDATION OF MORALITY