PHILOSOPHY AND SOCIETY

Man is a social animal. Our identity, experience, and actions are

defined not only by our physical environment, but also the society that
we are part of. Our interactions with other people are significant to
our growth as individuals. Within the family, a person grows to
become an individual able to relate with others. As our world
expands to include larger communities and societies, we are
confronted with the challenge of relating to people who come from
varied and different backgrounds. Life is a continual adventure of
connecting and relating with people and establishing meaningful
bonds with our fellow men.
WHAT IS FREEDOM?
FREEDOM OR LIBERTY

IS A SOCIAL ANDPOLITICAL CONCEPT

WHICH HAS GREAT SIGNIFICANCE IN
HOW PEOPLE PARTICIPATE IN THE
SOCIETY
FREEDOM in a political and social context means the freedom of an individual
from oppression, compulsion, or coercion from other person, an authority figure,
or from society itself. POLITICAL FREEDOM consists of two types of liberties:

POSITIVE NEGATIVE
LIBERTY LIBERTY
Refers to a person On the other hand, is
taking control of his freedom from
or her own life and external restraint,
fulfilling one’s barriers and other
potential interference from
other people
The development of a number of political
ideologies was influenced by varied ideas on
human liberty
 Liberalism – upholds the preservation of individual
rights and stresses the role of the government in
protecting theses civil liberties
 Libertarianism – believes that the individual, not the
government, is the best judge in upholding and
exercising rights
 Socialism – considers freedom as the freedom to
acquire economic resources and the ability to work and
act according to one’s desires
FREEDOM also entails the recognition of certain
RIGHTS and entitlements of persons
 NATURAL RIGHTS – refer to rights which innate in
the person such as the right to life. These rights are
considered universal and inalienable.

 LEGAL RIGHTS – are rights that are based on society’s customs,

and laws, and are enacted by legislation and enforced by a
government. The enjoyment of these rights is based on citizenship.
Theological views, define freedom as freedom from sin and living
a life of righteousness. Christian define freedom in the context of
living in accordance with the will of God
What makes us free? How does freedom
shape our experience?
Freedom, in its simplest sense, is the
freedom to make choices in life.
Philosophers relate human freedom to the
concept of HUMAN AGENCY

HUMAN AGENCY – refers to the

capacity of a person to act and exert
control over his or her behavior.
Human Freedom is expressed in 2 Ways:
FREE WILL – which is the capacity to
choose from alternative courses of action
or decision

FREE ACTION – the freedom to perform

an action without any obstacles or
hindrances
Philosophers identify various ways that people can exercise free
will and free action. These perspectives emphasizes different views
regarding the nature of free will and how it influences human action

Faculties Model – refers to free will as the use of

our mental faculties. It assumes that we have free
will due to our intellect and that each human
action is based on rationality and sound judgment.

Example: A student deciding to participate

actively in class to improve his/her grades
indicates that he/she uses judgment to
implement an action, thus exercising free will
Hierarchical Model – argues that free will
is based on human wants and desires. An
individual is faced with various wants and
desires that need to be met. A person
exercises free will when he/she identifies
one desire as acceptable and decides to act
on it.
Example: A newly-graduated high school
student who decides to pursue either
Engineering or Medicine in college is exercising
free will
Reasons-Responsive View – believes that
man has free will because he/she is able
to entertain reasons not to enact a certain
decision and act upon them when the need
arises.

Example: a person decides to cross the street

but sees a car rapidly approaching. He/She
exercise free will by choosing not to cross the
street and allow the speeding car to pass
What can prevent us from exercising our
Freedom?
Human freedom, however, has its
constraints. Constraints on free action
include external obstacles such as
PROHIBITIONS, LAWS, AND OTHER
SOCIAL CONTROLS imposed by Society.
A person can also be physically prevented
from performing an action by DISABILITY
or SICKNESS, or by COERCION exerted
by another person. Other external factors,
WEATHER, ACCIDENTS, PROVERTY.
Philosophers also pondered how free will can be
exercised in a seemingly deterministic world.
DETERMINISM – is a philosophical view
that believes that every event in the world is
brought about by underlying causes or
factors.

For example: A young person may struggle

with his or her family’s decision to move to a
different place but he or she can make the
choice either to adjust to the situation or to
resist change.
How can we effectively exercise freedom in our
Life?
The concept of moral responsibility is an
effective guide in the proper exercise of
human freedom.
Moral responsibility – refers to a person’s
status of deserving praise and reward, or
blame and punishment for an action
Our interactions with other people in society is
also an important influence in the proper
exercise of freedom. Adopting the concept of “
social contract,” we assume that human
freedom can be exrcised under certain
constraints or limits. Thus, our decisions and
actions should be done in consideration of the
established norms and laws of society, and the
general welfare. A responsible member of
society should uphold not only his or her own
individual rights, but also the rights and
liberties of other people.