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PHILOSOPHY OF
THE HUMAN PERSON
-JUSTINE KATE PURISIMA
-ALAN KERT UBAS
 What we'll discuss:

FREEDOM OF THE
HUMAN PERSON
 “You are free to the choice
that you want, but you are not
free from the consequences of
that choice. That choice you
make today may break or
make your family in future.”

- Itayi Garande
FREEDOM
What is freedom?
Freedom is an intrinsic and essential
property of the person.
An important indication of human
freedom is the ability to make choices and
perform actions.
Our freedom to act set us apart from
other beings.
Freedom is also associated with free will.
 FREEDOM
What is 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 temparement, many of the
characteristics that define our personality are often a
byproduct of our choices.
 FREEDOM
- Now 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
personalities we freely adopt.
For example, 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
THEREFORE,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 definehim or her.
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.
To understand the concept of freedom, let's
compare on how animals and humans behave.
Animals like dogs can perform certain tasks on command such as
"catch","stay" or, even "fetch".
However, the same can't be said about human beings.
A person will not respond automatically to a command like "Stay!"
because he/she is not conditioned to obey like a dog.
Therefore, 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 respomnses to certain stimuli.
A person, on the other hand, can choose the course of
action to take when given 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 pre-determined course.
For example:
Your father may ask you to clean your room one day and
you will follow his instruction.
The following week, however, you may decide not to clean
your room when told because you feel like lazing around
all day.
But by the week after, you may may decide to clean your
room without even being told.
These varied actions indicate that you are
exercising your freedom.
Having and exercising freedom entail certain
responsibilities. Human actions can
either uphold or diminish freedom.
Now take a look at the situation here. Samuel is carrying a heavy load of books along
the hallway when he suddenly loses his balance and drops all the books.
Imagine that you are one of his classmates who witnessed this. Which among the
situations pictured will be your most truthful reaction?
As we can see , the pictures present three
possible reactions: on the first picture
you may not choose to help Samuel or
ignore him while he picks up his books;
on the second picture, you may choose to
help him pick up his books; or even the
third picture, you may laugh at him and
refuse to help.
-What is the essence of freedom?

Freedom gave us the choice to undertake one of these possible

actions.
It also enables us to come up with new choices.
For instance, some may laugh at Samuel, but decide to help him
later.
The essence of freedom is that it does not confine our actions to
those set or expected by others; we can imagine new actions and
decide to undertake them.
REMEMBER:
.
Now recall your answer and ask yourself why you chose to take that
action.
Reflecting upon your actions will enable you to know yourself better as a
person
Your actions also determine if you uphold human dignity and freedom.
Having freedom, however, also entails certain responsibilities.
It is possible for a person to diminish or negate freedom through the
choices and actions that he or she makes.
"FREEDOM ALSO REQUIRES A DEGREE OF CONTROL
FROM THE PERSON WHO EXERCISES IT. A PERSON
BECOMES MORE FREE IF HE OR SHE EXERCISES
CONTROL OVER HIMSELF OR HERSELF. ON THE
OTHER HAND, A PERSON BECOMES LESS FREE IF HE
OR SHE IS NO LONGER CONTROL OF HIMSELF OR
HERSELF AND INSTEAD IS CONTROLLED BY OTHER
FORCES."
 "PEOPLE WHO ACT SOLELY BASED ON THEIR
EMOTIONS ARE ALSO LESS FREE BECAUSE
THEY ALLOW THEMSELVES TO BE CONTROLLED BY
THEIR FEELINGS WITHOUT ANY REGARD FOR
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS.PEOPLE WHO BEHAVE
IMPULSIVELY
AND ERRATICALLY ARE MORE SIMILAR TO ANIMALS
THAN PERSONS. TO LOSE CONTROL OF ONESELF
DIMINISHES HUMAN FREEDOM AND DEHUMANIZES THE
PERSON."
 "PERSONS WHO ARE DENIED THEIR FREEDOM BY
OTHER INDIVIDUALS, GROUPS, AND INSTITUITIONS
ARE ALSO DEHUMANIZED. SLAVERY IS A
DEHUMANIZING ACT BECAUSE A PERSON IS FORCED
TO WORK FOR LIFE WITHOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF
EVER LEAVING A LIFE OF BONDAGE."
KINDS OF FREEDOM
1. PHYSICAL FREEDOM
refers to the absence of physical restraint.
the person has the freedom of mobility to go or where you want to go.
he or she is not impeded in his or her action by any physical force.
also allows him or her to at and move in a determined matter.

2.PHYSOLOGICAL FREEDOM
is also called freedom of choice.
the person is free to perform actions that he or she considers
right and wise.
is innate and cannot be denied a person
no outside force or influence can compel a person to take
action against his or her will.
KINDS OF FREEDOM

3.MORAL FREEDOM
refers to using freedom in a manner that upholds human dignity
and goodness.
humans have a natural incination for what is true and good, and when a
person uses his or her freedom to do acts that violate human dignity and
goodness, he or she dehumanizes himself or herself and effectively
negates human freedom.
What are the elements of freedom?

There are 2 elements of freedom .

VOLUNTARINESS &
RESPONSIBILITY
VOLUTARINESS
refers to the ability of the person to act out of his or her own free
will self-determination.
this means that a person may decide to act or not to act , and these
decisions are made out of his or her free will.
it also means that a person may act even if he or she is not required or
called to take action.
Voluntary acts are free acts which can be assigned a corresponding
moral value.
RESPONSIBILITY
refers to the person being accountable for his or her actions and their
consequences.
Taking responsibility can either mean a person voluntarily taking
responsibility for his or her own actions, or being held responsible by
other people.
Whenever you know you commited a bad action, you can either
voluntarily confess to it or other people will point it out and hold you
responsible.
Responsibility can also have a positive or negative meaning, and it goes
hand-in-hand with voluntariness in determining the morality of an
action.
Conclusion
Freedom should be exercised in a responsible
and beneficial manner. Individuals must
exercise control over their actions and
recognize reasonable limits to their freedom.
Freedom should also be exercised with regard
for knowledge and truth, and each choice or
action must be made after careful thought
and reflection. Finally, it is our responsibility as
persons to uphold not only our individual
freedoms, but also the freedom of others.
References
Introduction of the Philosophy
of the Human Person
By Robert D. Abella, M.Div., D.Min.
Thank You
for listening!