MODULE-9 Freedom of The Human Person

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com
FREEDOM of the
HUMAN PERSON
GIAN CARLO C. VILLAGRACIA

Gener al Mar i ano Al var ez T echni cal HS 12
www.shsph.blogspot.com
TO THE LEARNERS
Here are some reminders as you use this module:

 Use the module with care especially in turning each page.
 Be reminded to answer the Pre-Test before moving on to the
Learning Module.
 Read and comprehend the directions in every exercises.
 Observe honesty in answering the tests and exercises.
 Do not put unnecessary mark/s on any part of this
material.
 Try to finish a given activity before proceeding to the next.
12
Introduction to
the Philosophy
of the
Human Person
Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s
Situated Freedom
GIAN CARLO C. VILLAGRACIA

Copyright 2019
1
WHAT IS THIS MODULE ALL ABOUT?
This module serves as a learning resource material in understanding the

target competency expected in the curriculum.
TOPIC
Jean Paul Sartre’s Absolute Freedom
CONTENT STANDARD
The learner understands the human person’s freedom
PERFORMANCE STANDARD
The learner shows situations that demonstrate freedom of choice and
the consequences of choices
LEARNING COMPETENCY
PPT11/12-IIc-5.4: Show situations that demonstrate freedom of
choice and the consequences of their choices
The presented activities or exercises and texts are developed

in order to meet the following objectives:
1. Define “Situated Freedom” according to Merleau-Ponty
2. Make decisions based on high moral standards
3. Practice responsibility and accountability towards our choices
2
PRE-TEST
Read the following items carefully. Write the

letter of your answer in a separate sheet of
paper.
1. What virtue has the highest moral value?
A. Respect
B. Love
C. Anger
D. Patience
2. He constituted the idea of situated freedom
A. Martin Buber
B. Max Scheler
C. Maurice Merleau-Ponty
D. Jean Paul Sartre
3. The exercise of freedom depends on
A. Time of the Day

B. Mood
C. Desire
D. Situation
4. It is way better than our intellect in terms of acquiring knowledge

according to Merleau-Ponty
A. Experience
B. Intellect
C. Schooling
D. Tutorials
5. What do you call our basic and particular choices we made every day
in our lives?
A. Freedom of expression
B. Freedom of choice
C. Fundamental option
D. Fundamental choice
3
6. What is our general direction or orientation in life that reflects our

values in life?
7. It is also called as vertical freedom
8. What is the horizontal freedom?
9. Our choices must be based on our ______________________
A. Moral standards/values
B. Desires
C. Intellectual Choice
D. Favorites
10. As we speak about the freedom of the human person, we may

conclude that you are _________ to your actions and________ to your
choices.
A. Sincere and Well-founded

B. Sure and Unique
C. Mindful and Firm
D. Responsible and Accountable
4
REWINDING THE PAST
Either we are free or not, we have it both

It is God-given gift, it is a one-life oath
How to live life to the fullest, if life itself is absurd?
Shall we call it freedom? Shall we be forever cursed?
What shall we do to make existence true?
What‟s clear for us is a certain power

The power to CHOOSE, rise up! My dear fellow!
Our choice matters most, it makes our life authentic
We make our own original project,
let‟s live our life real, efficient, well-played and effective!
5
PLAYING THE CONCEPT
We have seen two extreme realities of FREEDOM.

1. Freedom from theological perspective – determinism
2. Freedom from atheistic view – existentialism
As a student of philosophy, we have learned that we must see things

in a holistic manner. We have seen both sides of freedom, that’s why let’s
stand at the neutral part of the discourse. We look at these two concepts
from above and we shall stand in between. For this module, we focus on:
SITUATED FREEDOM
Our freedom depends on a given situation. There is neither pure
determinism characteristic of the thing nor the absolute choice of pure
consciousness. Situated freedom falls at the center of things – that freedom
is relatively true only with a given situation.
This philosophical concept came from

Maurice Merleau-Ponty, a contemporary of
Jean Paul Sartre, not to mention being his
school buddy and a friend. Merleau-Ponty,
a french philosopher, asks “What then is
freedom?” For him, to be born is both to
be born of the world and to be born into the
world. Simply, we exist for a purpose and
that purpose is relative to every being.
Existence does not end with existence
alone, but it is a gateway towards co-
existing with other beings – sharing each
essences of well-being.
Moreover, he added that “the world
therefore is already constituted but not
completely. It is already constituted because
before us are possibilities for us to choose
our being in the world.”
Our world is a given world: pre-determined, created even before us. All
that is in this world are constituted for a purpose. When we exist, we co-
exist with all the possibilities that this world may offer. Thus, Merleau-Ponty
says, “There is always an exchange between situation and the person who
takes it up.” Our choices depend on every situation: the same situation
million years ago that existed and constituted all throughout time.
In all situations possible, how can we exercise our authentic freedom?
6
PAUSE AND TRY AN ACTIVITY
Trolley Problem: An Ethical Dilemma
You see a runaway trolley moving toward five tied-up (or otherwise incapacitated) people lying on
the tracks. You are standing next to a lever that controls a switch. If you pull the lever, the trolley will
be redirected onto a side track, and the five people on the main track will be saved. However, there is
a single person lying on the side track. You have two options:
1. Do nothing and allow the trolley to kill the five people on the main track.
2. Pull the lever, diverting the trolley onto the side track where it will kill one person.
Explain your answer:

Would you choose? A or B? Elaborate your choice.
_____________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
7
PAUSE AND ANALYZE THE ACTIVITY
Let us analyze your answer!
You might choose to save these five

people to live than the only one on the
other side of the railroad because you
simply value a larger scale of life. It is
true, five lives are valuable than one, and
we cannot argue with that anymore. When
we speak of religious beliefs like Karma,
choosing a large number of people to save
means to receive a greater effect is a good
karma. When we give importance to more
people, it means we may receive good blessings, even better.
Now, your choice to save this one

than the other five people is a different
story! Here comes the idea of situated
freedom. Our choice depends on a given
situation.
Let us modify the situation here:

What if this one person is your mother,
and all the other five people are corrupt
government officials, would you still value
a larger scale of life?
In a given situation, our choice changes. We might choose this

one single person because this human person has a higher value in
our life.
We can exercise freedom here basing on the moral standards

that we have. Never forget that whatever choice we make; we shall
always be responsible and accountable for the given consequences.
8
PLAYING THE CONCEPT ONCE AGAIN!
Let us deepen the concept of situated freedom!
Let’s start with this quotable quote by our philosopher for today.
Being known as one of the great thinkers in the area of phenomenology, for
Merleau-Ponty, experience is way better than our intellect in terms of
acquiring knowledge. In every choice we make, we try to be analytic but still
experience can be the best key. Through experiences, from childhood up to
now, we are able to collect values – not just a simple family value, but a high
moral standard of value.
When we’re kids, our parents taught us to say “po” and “opo” as a
sign of respect to our elders. That simple gesture connotes a high moral
value, and unconsciously that value is confined within us as we grow older.
And I strongly believe that as long as we live with a high moral value, we live
more authentically – practicing our freedom to choose good over evil.
To deepen more the concept of situated freedom, here is an excerpt
from Rommel Gersava’s article entitled Freedom, and I quote – “He (Merleau-
Ponty) states that „freedom is interwoven with the field of existences. Our
choices are not made from absolute zero but from this field of meaning‟. It
means that we choose something not simply because we need to choose but
we choose something because it has meaning to us. Man‟s freedom is always
affected by situation. We are free to choose based on what situation we
belong in which we find meaning for ourselves.”
This is definitely true in all levels!
Now, to supplement more information about situated freedom of

Merleau-Ponty, let us talk about the two kinds of freedom.
9
There are two kinds of freedom: the freedom of choice (horizontal

freedom) and the fundamental option (vertical freedom). The freedom of
choice is our basic and particular choices we made every day in our lives.
The fundamental option is our general direction or orientation in life that
reflects our values in life. It is vertical freedom because it is a hierarchy that
some values are higher than the others.
Our decisions every single day depends on these two.
To easily understand this, let’s have an example. GENEROSITY.

There are lots of ways to be generous. We have a freedom of choice to
exercise generosity each day: making lunch for the family, contributing
funds for the school, etc. Now, that horizontal choice can be levelled up
with the idea of the fundamental option. Yes, you can be generous, but how
generous are you? Your level of generosity may vary because of your MORAL
STANDARDS.
There are many politicians who are doing their job in good and moral
way. But when a politician tries to be generous to his/her community and
wants to take bigger than what he/she has given, then the moral value of
these politicians are low (just like what you can see on the figure above).
10
To sum things up, let us ponder on the words of Max Scheler,
“it is Love which makes me a Person,

which makes me truly Free.”
Indeed, Love is the highest moral value of all. When our choices are
rooted from love and compassion, then all the decisions we make are good
and nothing but pure goodness. There is total freedom if there is love as the
saying goes, “if you Love someone set it Free.” Freedom makes us truly
human.
Our freedom comes from the IMAGO DEI. Our freedom is an everyday
spontaneous choice which is absolute. But most of all, our freedom is
manifested from the choices we make every single day. Reflect and look at
yourself – set a high standard of moral value, and you shall be free, living an
authentic way of life.
LET’S STOP AND APPLY WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED
It seems that the application has been mentioned already in the

concept section. But still, there are few things you need to remember:
1. Your choice defines your worth.

a. If you choose to be good, then your life is worth living
2. Do not ignore small details in your life
a. There are times that you tend to ignore instances that may
develop your moral standards
b. Example, exercising your freedom towards religion,
exercising your social responsibilities, etc.
3. Do not suppress your freedom.
a. You always have a choice. Sometimes you neglect your
existence through non-existent act, that’s why you tend to
not decide about things on your own.
4. Lastly, you are RESPONSIBLE to your actions and ACCOUNTABLE
to your CHOICES.
a. You create your own life story. Your choices, your actions,
and your decisions are yours alone. It is up to you if you
want to live an authentic life.
11
POST-TEST
Read the following items carefully. Write the

letter of your answer in a separate sheet of
paper.
1. What virtue has the highest moral value?
A. Respect
B. Love
C. Anger
D. Patience
2. He constituted the idea of situated freedom
A. Martin Buber
B. Max Scheler
C. Maurice Merleau-Ponty
D. Jean Paul Sartre
3. The exercise of freedom depends on
A. Time of the Day

B. Mood
C. Desire
D. Situation
4. It is way better than our intellect in terms of acquiring knowledge

according to Merleau-Ponty
A. Experience
B. Intellect
C. Schooling
D. Tutorials
5. What do you call our basic and particular choices we made every day
in our lives?
12
6. What is our general direction or orientation in life that reflects our
values in life?
7. It is also called as vertical freedom
8. What is the horizontal freedom?
9. Our choices must be based on our ______________________
A. Moral standards/values
B. Desires
C. Intellectual Choice
D. Favorites
10. As we speak about the freedom of the human person, we may

conclude that you are _________ to your actions and________ to your
choices.
A. Sincere and Well-founded

B. Sure and Unique
C. Mindful and Firm
D. Responsible and Accountable
13
LET’S REPLAY!
 Maurice Merleau-Ponty coined the idea of situated freedom
 The exercise of freedom depends on a given situation
 Man’s freedom is always affected by situation.
 The freedom of choice is our basic and particular choices we

made every day in our lives.
 The fundamental option is our general direction or orientation

in life that reflects our values in life.
 It is vertical freedom because it is a hierarchy that some values

are higher than the others.
 Love is the highest moral value of all.
 You create your own life story. Your choices, your actions, and
your decisions are yours alone. It is up to you if you want to live
an authentic life.
14
Answer Key
Pre-Test
1. B
2. C
3. D
4. A
5. B
6. C
7. C
8. B
9. A
10. D
Post-Test
1. B
2. C
3. D
4. A
5. B
6. C
7. C
8. B
9. A
10. D
15
REFERENCES
(n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/28927214/FREEDOM
(n.d.). Retrieved from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/merleau-ponty/#PhenPerc
(n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/23513020?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
(n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolley_problem
Gersava, R. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://classikomoro.wordpress.com/2014/09/05/freedom-5/
Vinzons, M. P. (2016). Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person. Quezon City: Vibal Group,
Inc.
Media Sources
https://jasperrijpmablog.com/2017/03/12/training-ethical-aware-citizens/
https://jennymackness.wordpress.com/tag/maurice-merleau-ponty/
https://www.azquotes.com/author/9997-Maurice_Merleau_Ponty
16
This module maybe adopted, modified and

reproduced for educational purposes with appropriate
credit to the author.
For inquiries, feedback and suggestions, please
contact the author through the Division Learning
resource Supervisor at Tel. No. _________________ and/or
email address ________________ @deped.gov.ph
17

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www.shsph.blogspot.

GIAN CARLO C. VILLAGRACIA

Here are some reminders as you use this module:

GIAN CARLO C. VILLAGRACIA

WHAT IS THIS MODULE ALL ABOUT?

This module serves as a learning resource material in understanding the

The presented activities or exercises and texts are developed

1. Define “Situated Freedom” according to Merleau-Ponty

2. Make decisions based on high moral standards

3. Practice responsibility and accountability towards our choices

Read the following items carefully. Write the

1. What virtue has the highest moral value?

2. He constituted the idea of situated freedom

3. The exercise of freedom depends on

A. Time of the Day

4. It is way better than our intellect in terms of acquiring knowledge

6. What is our general direction or orientation in life that reflects our

7. It is also called as vertical freedom

8. What is the horizontal freedom?

9. Our choices must be based on our ______________________

10. As we speak about the freedom of the human person, we may

A. Sincere and Well-founded

REWINDING THE PAST

Either we are free or not, we have it both

What‟s clear for us is a certain power

PLAYING THE CONCEPT

We have seen two extreme realities of FREEDOM.

As a student of philosophy, we have learned that we must see things

This philosophical concept came from

In all situations possible, how can we exercise our authentic freedom?

PAUSE AND TRY AN ACTIVITY

Trolley Problem: An Ethical Dilemma

Explain your answer:

PAUSE AND ANALYZE THE ACTIVITY

Let us analyze your answer!

You might choose to save these five

Now, your choice to save this one

Let us modify the situation here:

In a given situation, our choice changes. We might choose this

We can exercise freedom here basing on the moral standards

PLAYING THE CONCEPT ONCE AGAIN!

Let us deepen the concept of situated freedom!

This is definitely true in all levels!

Now, to supplement more information about situated freedom of

There are two kinds of freedom: the freedom of choice (horizontal

Our decisions every single day depends on these two.

To easily understand this, let’s have an example. GENEROSITY.

“it is Love which makes me a Person,

LET’S STOP AND APPLY WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED

It seems that the application has been mentioned already in the

1. Your choice defines your worth.

Read the following items carefully. Write the

1. What virtue has the highest moral value?

2. He constituted the idea of situated freedom

3. The exercise of freedom depends on

A. Time of the Day

4. It is way better than our intellect in terms of acquiring knowledge

7. It is also called as vertical freedom

8. What is the horizontal freedom?

9. Our choices must be based on our ______________________

10. As we speak about the freedom of the human person, we may

A. Sincere and Well-founded

 Maurice Merleau-Ponty coined the idea of situated freedom