FREEDOM OF THE HUMAN

PERSON
WHAT IS FREEDOM?
WHAT IS FREEDOM?
• The ability to make choices and perform
those choices.

• The ability to be what we want and to

decide and create oneself.
Freedom itself
• It is the quality or state of being free.

• It is our capacity to choose of what we wanted and an

inner awareness of what is right and wrong that is traced
to our free will.

• an intrinsic and an essential property of a human person

which basically means, it is a part of our human nature
Free will
• Our free will allows us to decide on things we do
depending on the situation.

• It is our ability to choose between two different possible

courses of action, independently.

• Simply put it, free will is our ability to choose things

according to our moral reasoning.
KINDS OF FREEDOM
Physical Freedom
• Refers to the absence of any physical restraint. The
person has the freedom of mobility to go where he or she
wants to go.

• He or she is not impeded in his or her actions by any

physical force.
Psychological Freedom
• also called freedom of choice.
• The person is free to perform actions that he or she considers
right and wise.
• A person is also free to act or not to act.
• Psychological freedom is innate and cannot be denied to a
person.
• No outside force or influence can compel a person to take action
against his or her will.
Moral Freedom
• refers to using freedom in a manner that
upholds human dignity and goodness.
Freedom is not an object that a person may use in whatever way he
or she pleases.
• A person must use his or her freedom to grow as a person.
• A person becomes freer when he or she uses freedom well, but
becomes less free when he or she uses it in a bad way.
• Humans have a natural inclination for what is true and good, and
when a person uses his or her freedom to do acts that violates
human dignity and goodness, he or she dehumanizes himself or
herself and effectively negates human freedom.
ELEMENTS OF FREEDOM
Voluntariness
• It is the ability of a person to act of his or her own free
will and self determination.

• A person may decide to do things or not to do it

according to his own free will.
Responsibility
• refers to the person being accountable for his or her
action and their consequences.

• Taking responsibility can mean either you take

responsibility to your action voluntarily or other people
will hold you responsible
Mang Lito was walking down a street when he suddenly saw
a boy crossing the busy road. The boy was chasing after a
basketball that had bounced off into the road. The boy had his
eyes on his ball and did not realize that there was oncoming
traffic on the road. At the same time, a taxi was passing along
the road. Its driver saw the boy suddenly crossing and he
quickly applied his brake to stop the car. The taxi was about
to hit the boy when Mang Lito decided to take action, ran
across the road, and grabbed the boy to safety.
There are important factors to consider in the exercise of
freedom. These are Prudence and Self-reflection.

Prudence Self-reflection allows

is the ability to govern and
discipline oneself with the use of
reason; it is having caution and
giving good judgments in making
decisions.
us to be more rational in making
choices, because sometimes
human beings tend to be slaves
by their emotions and moods
whenever they act certain things.
 EXERCISING FREEDOM IN A
RESPONSIBLE AND BENEFICIAL
MANNER
Freedom should be exercised with control and reasonable
limits.

As humans, we enjoy freedom, but we need to understand that it is not

absolute. Meaning, we should exercise our freedom with control and
reasonable limits.

Examples:
A student may be first in line in a grocery store but chooses to give
way to an elderly woman next to her.
Freedom should be exercised with regard for knowledge
and truth.
As a rational beings, it is natural for us to think before we act. We use
our freedom to acquire knowledge, which in turn are useful in
making right and sound decisions essential in dealing with our life
situations.

Example:
To correctly answer a multiple-choice item in an examination, a student has to
study his/her lessons. Otherwise, he/she cannot answer the test.
Freedom should be exercised with regard for knowledge
and truth.
As a rational beings, it is natural for us to think before we act. We use
our freedom to acquire knowledge, which in turn are useful in
making right and sound decisions essential in dealing with our life
situations.

Example:
To correctly answer a multiple-choice item in an examination, a student has to
study his/her lessons. Otherwise, he/she cannot answer the test.
Freedom should be exercised to uphold the freedom of
others.
Freedom is recognized and guaranteed right for all persons. But it is
important to remember that freedom should be exercised not as a tool
to restrict the freedom of others, but as a means to enable others to
fully enjoy their own freedom.

Example:
A teacher doing his/her class discussion under the Narra tree instead
of having it inside the classroom.
Here is a picture of a bird fly freely and a bird inside a cage. Which would you
prefer for yourself? Is it important for you? Why?