HUMAN

FREEDOM
PREPARED BY: FEVVIE VON GREGORIO ASISTIO, M.A., M.A.
Is man free???
- One basic characteristic of man that separates
him from all other animals is his ability to
choose.

- Animals lack the capacity to choose.

- Man’s freedom, his capacity to choose and to

determine his life, is not completely obvious.
SOME FACTORS TEND TO NEGATE
HUMAN FREEDOM
a.Physical Limitations

- there are many choices which a person cannot make

simply because of what life has given to him.

- man is confronted with physical limitations in may areas

of his life.
b. Psychological Limitations

- one great destroyer of human freedom is fear.

c. Limitations of the Situation

- I cannot marry someone whom I never met.

- I cannot talk to someone who does not share a common

language with me.
d. Habits

- these habits may have developed in the past without any

serious choice on one’s part and yet at the present moment
they determine what I do and how I do it.
e. Motivations of one’s action

- a person’s action is always influenced by motives

that are there guiding my choices.

- when I choose to act on a certain stage I always

have reasons for such a choice.
f. Fate – predestination

- are our lives controlled by fate?

Activity:

1.Which of the limitations to freedom presented

in this chapter do you consider most influential?

2.Is man free? Does man still have the power to

determine his life despite these limitations?
MAN IS FREE
This presumption that man is free is present in may
situations in human life.

1st = in our automatic judgments of the actions.

2nd = when we actively struggle against any one who

tries to limit our actions.
What is the basis of this assurance that man has
the power to control his own life?

What human experience testifies to the existence

of freedom?
1. Sense of Openness

- each day human beings face the possibility that any

can happen.

- life is not one set of routine in which everything is

fixed and determined before hand.
2. Responsibility

- one basic experiences of human life is the sense that

human beings are responsible for their lives, for everything
they do.
3. Consciousness of Choosing

- immediate experience of making decisions, of choosing.

4. Rewards and Punishments

- their actions are not automatic actions of robots but

represent the free choices of individuals who are determining
their own lives.
WAYS OF NOT BEING FREE
1. Life of Chance

2. Social Pressure

3. Feelings

4. Rules

5. Needs
“Freedom is an achievement. It can be attained only if we
take control in our lives, learn to control our feelings, get
beyond our basic needs, rise above the rules of our lives and
become free of social pressure…”