Lesson 1: Freedom of the Human Person

What is Freedom?
- The human capacity to or not to act.
- Act without any external compulsion.
- Is an intrinsic and essential property of the person.
→ From the very moment of our birth, freedom becomes our inherent companion, an
essence woven into our being. It is our destiny to manifest this freedom in its purest
form, embracing its boundless potential. Stripped of it, we forfeit our essence as
individuals, reduced to mere organisms traversing this terrestrial realm.
- It is what set us apart from other beings.
- Freedom is the very essence of the human person. For it is in freedom that he realizes the
fullness of humanity.
Animals Human Person
 Respond to commands  Can choose the course of action when
 Trained and conditioned to perform given the stimulus or faced with a
 Act instinctively situation.
"Man is nothing but what he makes himself" by Jean Paul Sartre
- We're not just products of design. Freedom gives us the chance to break free from the crowd
and be whoever we truly want to be, not just another face in the crowd.
Human Freedom in the light of existentialism
- Existentialism sees human freedom as our ability to shape our own lives through choices,
emphasizing that we're responsible for creating our own meaning in an uncertain world.
Existentialism
- A philosophical movement known for its inquiry of human existence
- To exist
— For Sartre, the human person builds the road to the destiny of their choosing; therefore, they
are the creator.
- His existentialism stems from existence precedes essence.
→ In existentialism means that individuals exist before defining their fundamental nature
through their choices and actions.
Kinds of Freedom
1. Physical Freedom
- Ability to move and control your own body
2. Psychological Freedom
- Freedom to love, work, and make choices.
- Innate and cannot be denied a person.
3. Moral Freedom
- It is not the right to do what you want, it is the strength to do what is right.
Elements that define freedom
1. Voluntariness
- Ability to act out of own free will and self-determination.
- Are free acts which can be assigned a corresponding moral value.
2. Responsibility
- Being accountable for the action's consequences.
3. Prudence
- To govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason.
Do we have limited freedom?
- Absolute freedom
→ Doing what you can do

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 → Doing what you can do
→ Abuse of human freedom
- Our human freedom is not absolute.
PAN- Determinism
- The idea that humans do not have control over who they become.
- Humans are not free because we are determined by:
a. Biological Determinism
b. Psychological Determinism
– According to Sigmund Freud, freedom is an illusion.
 Human decisions are determined by instincts, drives, hopes, wishes, and
past experiences which humans are not aware of and of which they have no
control.
c. Sociological Determinism
– Shaped by external conditions
- Freedom requires self-control.
Self- Reflection
- Vital in the proper exercise of human freedom.
- We must recognize the importance of exercising freedom responsibly.
Consequences
- A part of every choice
- For every voluntary action there will be an equivalent consequence that has the possibility to
affect others as well.
Your life is decided by free will and fate.

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