Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
Region III – Central Luzon
SCHOOLS DIVISION OFFICE OF BALANGA CITY
INTRODUCTION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON
2nd QUARTER

Quarter 2 || Lesson 1: – Understanding Freedom

FREEDOM
- An intrinsic and essential property of a person. The human person is by nature free and seeks
freedom. Our freedom to act sets us apart from other beings.
- Also understood to be the power to create and define oneself. It is also rooted in the person’s self-
determination and the exercise of intellect and free will.

***POSITIVE FREEEDOM VS NEGATIVE FREEDOM***

NEGATIVE FREEDOM
– refers to the “absence of interference”. By interference we mean something that is intentionally
imposed on a person. In this freedom, people just do whatever it is that they want to do without
consideration of its consequences or its violations.

POSITIVE FREEDOM
- allows rightful interference. It is a kind of freedom that requires active effort to be good from the
person who is said to be free.
- This is freedom from any coercion or interference for one to be able to do good things. It refers to
the inner struggles of a person who is pulled in opposing directions of his own conflicting desires,
wants and needs.

WHO IS REALLY FREE?

- A person who is free (possesses positive freedom) has control or mastery of herself and has the
strength to do what is good even without interference. Policies, rules and regulations are there to
ensure the good of every person. Thus a person who is free is hardly aware of rules and
regulations that others think limits a person’s freedom. A person who is free is not allergic to
rules and regulations because rules helps a person grow in freedom.
- Genuine freedom is not the one who “do what they want” rather the one who “do with
responsibility”.

FREEDOM IS AN EMBODIED ACTION

- Freedom is not just an idea we talk about, rather, it is something we enact. Our actions are visible
to others. Freedom is not freedom unless there is another who recognizes it.

EXISTENTIALISM: FREEDOM IS EXERCISED THROUGH CHOICES

- From infancy to early childhood, a person cannot yet be said to be completely free, both in a
negative and positive sense. However, during adulthood, a person must realize that he can steer
the direction of his story through his own choices. Here, we can conclude that a person is not
“born free” rather “born to be free” and meant to grow in freedom.
- However, in most cases, freedom comes across as a burden to an adult. There is tendency for
young adults to feel lost like driftwood in a boundless sea. Because one realizes that one’s life
directions are mostly up to his choices, one tends to be paralyzed in the face of so many
possibilities.
- The worst that can ever happen to anyone is to “become anonymous” because of losing his
individuality.
 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region III – Central Luzon
SCHOOLS DIVISION OFFICE OF BALANGA CITY
INTRODUCTION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON
2nd QUARTER
- Existentialists argue that the human person must take care not to get lost in anonymity, in a
crowd. They said, men and women of this century found themselves absorbed in various,
sometimes conflicting system. It is as if a person is controlled by an anonymous crowd.
- Existentialism uplift the word EXIST. To exist – ex-stare – is to stand out from faceless and
anonymity, to rise above the crowd!
- The main tenet of existentialism is that we are the authors of our lives. In every story with its own
plot twists, it is the author who creates those turning points. If we take responsibility over our
own lives, then we can say that those plot twists are not the products of fate or destiny, but of our
own choice.

“FREEDOM AS CHOOSING FOR ONESELF THAT LEADS TO PERSONALITY

CONSOLIDATION”

- One of the main precursors is Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855), a Danish Philosopher. According to him,
freedom is the capacity to choose, and in choosing, the personality is consolidated.
- “Amorphous self” is the unstructured understanding of oneself that makes a person rely on other
people’s judgment of who she is in order to define oneself. In other words, unknown self.
- Jean-Paul Sartre argues that there is no essence that precedes existence. Essence can be understood as a
pre-given nature of a person. To be essentialist is to assume there is an existing real self that has already
been pre-cut for each of us, and all that a person must do is to confine all of his actions according to this
essence. However, because of this essence, when a person does not fulfill the criteria of his essence, he
can be judged as inauthentic and abnormal.
- Moreover, Kierkegaard also argued that when we allow dominant forces or personalities around us to
choose for ourselves, the most important aspect of our lives, our selves remain inauthentic. Freedom
therefore means exercising our capacity to make decisions, choose our life path and direct the course of
our lives through our own steering.

DETERMINANTS OF LIMITATIONS OF FREEDOM

1. Self – freedom must not be detrimental to one self. Freedom must uplift or help a person achieve the
highest possibilities that he can be.
2. Others – one’s freedom is limited to the right and freedom of other people that needs to prevail.
3. Society - one’s freedom is limited to the peace and order of the society. This is guided by civil law.
4. Environment - one’s freedom ends when the environment may be jeopardized
5. God – the freedom of all human beings is limited based on God’s commandments.

KINDS of FREEDOM

a. Physical Freedom - all human beings are created in the image and likeness with God. Therefore, we have
the freedom to improve our physical aspects in a manner that will still be pleasing to God. We are created
mobile thus no unjust incarceration anyone must incur.
b. Intellectual Freedom – God gave precious minds to human beings so they can think correctly. A true
free individual is capable of refining one’s thinking and using his mind to think critically contributory to
preservation, protection and improvement of all of God’s creations. Everyone has freedom to express the
thoughts formed inside his/her mind.
c. Spiritual Freedom – as spirited individual, everyone have freedom to fulfill the sanctification of his/her
spirit.
d. Economic Freedom – all human beings have equal economic freedom that ensures opportunity for
everyone to prosper in life.
 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region III – Central Luzon
SCHOOLS DIVISION OFFICE OF BALANGA CITY
INTRODUCTION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON
2nd QUARTER
e. Emotional Freedom – all human beings should be free from any form of emotional torture or coercion.
All emotion is valid and therefore is free to be expressed in a justifiable manner. Our emotion is one of
the precious gifts of God to human beings and no one has to take it away from anyone.
f. Social Freedom – in every particular society, there is always acceptable notion. However, note that
everyone has social freedom and should therefore not be coerced to perform social acts against his/her
will. And everyone must only exhibit acts duly accepted by the consensus.

Activity No.

Directions. Read the following questions and provide concise answer not less than 5 sentences for each
item.
1. Write down 3 absurd (irrational) things you would do if you are granted an absolute freedom for
a day or 24 hours with total freedom to do anything. Explain briefly why you would do such a
thing.
(e.g. I am going to kill my neighbor. Because she has been spreading gossips about my family.)

2. Should freedom be absolute (without limitations)? If yes, explain rationally. If no, argue your
point of view.

3. If freedom should be limited, enumerate and explain the indispensable limitations of freedom.

4. Among the following, which do you think must control the limitation of one’s freedom? Explain
your choice rationally and also reason why the others should not govern one’s freedom.
a. An authoritarian leader
b. Oneself
c. The great majority or others
5. In your perception, which among the declared 30 basic human rights by United Nations are most
often violated? Cite 5 and justify your answer. (Please Refer to the Video Lesson on Basic Human
Rights)

Activity No.

Direction. Make an objective definition of freedom by making an Acrostic on the letters of

FREEDOM. Make sure that each letter will represent a rational definition of freedom and not just
an ambiguous word or sentence.

F–
R–
E–
E–
 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region III – Central Luzon
SCHOOLS DIVISION OFFICE OF BALANGA CITY
INTRODUCTION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON
2nd QUARTER
Activity No.

Direction. Read the following questions and provide concise answer not less than 5 sentences for
each item.
1. Laws, rules and regulations are said to help a person grow in freedom like in ability to choose what
is good. Do all laws help people to grow in their ability to choose the good? If yes, rationally
explain. If no, justify your answer.

2. Based on your personal experience, give 3 instances or situations in your life that demonstrate
freedom of choice and its consequence.
For example:
Situation 1: Having tattoo.
Consequence: Was scolded by parents.

3. Many people post comments in social media using anonymous or fake accounts. Do you think such
action demonstrate exercise of true freedom? If yes, explain rationally. If no, justify.