ACTIVITY:

Let’s Ponder:
Read and analyze the following
quotes
"Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown
into the world, he is responsible for everything he
does.“
-Jean Paul Sartre
 "
Freedom is not advanced in the permissive society, which
confuse freedom with license to do anything whatever
and which in the name of freedom proclaim a kind
general amorality. It is a caricature of freedom to claim
that people are free to organize their lives with no
reference to moral values, and to say that society does
not have to ensure the protection and advancement of
ethical values. Such an attitude is destructive of freedom
and peace.

- Pope John Paul II

1. How is freedom defined in the quotes?

2. Which idea regarding freedom is

acceptable to you?

3. If you were to make your own definition of

“freedom” what will it be?
Fill out the box with your ideas and reactions to the statement

I AM FREE BECAUSE……
ABSTRACTION:
What is Freedom?
 Is the power rooted in reason and will to
FREEDOM act or not to act, to do this or that and so
to perform deliberate actions.

Theological – God freeing us from our sin

Political – Laws
Philosophical – State of mind
 Theological Views on Freedom

- Defines freedom as freedom from sin

and living a life of righteousness.
- Christians defines freedom in the
context of living in accordance with the
will of God.
 Political Concept on Freedom

Freedom or Liberty – a social and political

concept which has great significance in how
people participate in society.
The concept of freedom emerged as an
important philosophical issue in 18thcentury
Europe during the Age of Enlightenment.
- Intellectuals pondered on the origins
of society and the state and the nature
of human freedom.

- Enlightenment thinkers believed

that early man existed in a “natural
state” and had absolute freedom.
However, the establishment of
societies required people to surrender
some of their freedoms in order to live
in harmony with others and ensure the
survival of society.
 In establishing society, people entered into a
“social contract” which defined the freedoms that
they will be enjoying as members of a society
and the state.

Freedom in a political and social context

means the freedom of an individuals from
oppression, compulsion, or coercion from
other persons, an authority figure, or from
society itself.
Political freedom consists of two type of liberties

Positive liberty refers to a person taking

control of his or her own life and fulfilling
one’s potential.

Negative liberty is freedom from

external restrain, barriers, and other
inferences from other people.
LIBERALISM – upholds the preservation of
individuals rights and stresses the role of the
government in protecting civil liberties.

- 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 responses and
the ability to work and act according to one’s
desires.

Person’s Rights
1. Natural rights
2. Legal rights
Natural Rights – refer to rights which are
innate in the person such as the rights to
life.
Legal Rights – are rights that are base on
society’s customs and laws, and are
enacted by legislation and enforced by a
government.
 Philosophical View on Freedom

Human freedom is expressed in two ways:

1. Free action – the freedom to perform an action

without any obstacles or hindrances
2. Freewill – which is the capacity to choose
from alternative courses of action or decision
 Views on the nature of Freewill and how it
influence the Human Action

1. Human Agency – refers to the capacity of a person to act

and exert control over his or her behavior.

2. Faculties model – refers to freewill as the use of our

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

A student deciding to participate actively in

class to improve his or her grades indicates
that he or she uses judgement to implement an
action, thus exercising free will.
Hierarchical model argues that free will is
based on human wants and desires.

Wants and Desire

A person exercises free will when he identifies one
desire as acceptable and decide to act on it.
Example:

A newly-graduated high school students who

decides to pursue either Engineering or
Medicine in college is exercising free will.

Should he choose Medicine, he must

want to become a doctor.
Reasons-responsive view – believes that
man has free will because he 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 or 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?

Constraints – limitation or restriction

This includes external obstacles such as:

1. Prohibitions
2. Laws
3. Social controls
External factors that may restrict free action
includes:
1. Weather
2. Accidents
3. Poverty

Constraints on freewill includes certain methods that

cloud a person’s judgement such as:
1. Manipulation or brainwashing
2. Coercion
DETERMINISM
vs.
FREEWILL
Determinism – is a philosophical view that
believes that every event in the world is brought
about by underlying causes or factors.

If a man is indeed free, how can he exercise

his free will and action in a world where
events are already determined by outside
forces?
 Free will and Determinism

Freewill being exercised in a

deterministic scenario is how
people deal with things that are
“outside their control”
Factors to consider:

1. Influence in society
2. Socioeconomic situation
3. Culture
4. People
5. Community
Marxist Philosophy
believes that society
imposes certain controls
on people, and that a
person’s social group
largely influences how he
think or acts.
How can we
effectively exercise
freedom in our life
?
Moral Responsibility – refers to a
person’s status of deserving praise
and reward, or blame and punishment
for an action.
Christian doctrine establishes that all good,
moral actions will result in rewards such as
blessing and salvation, while evil deeds merit
punishment both in this world and in the
afterlife.
FREEDOM IS POWER
• How do I use my freedom? Is it for my good and of those around
me?
• Do I tend to abuse it?
• Why can’t God stop it if it is abused?

FREEDOM IS ROOTED IN REASON AND WILL

• We do not act out of nothing
• There should be a reason for everything.
• What will happen if we do what ever we want regardless of the
outcome?
FREEDOM IS PERFORMING DELIBERATE ACTION
• Deliberate means intentional.
• Do we really intended it to happen or
not?

FREEDOM IS NOT LISCENTIOUSNESS

• Licentiousness – is doing anything you want without
restraint.
• Is this possible?
FREEDOM IS. . .
• Doing what is good
• Freedom is always doing what is good.

FREEDOM IS. . .
• It is not absolute
• One’s freedom is always limited by the
freedom of others.
FREEDOM IS…

• Freedom could be misused and

abused.
• Romans 6:17 “to disobey God and
do evil is an abuse of freedom and
leads to
slavery of sin.”
FREEDOM IS…

• Freedom always entails

obligation
• Moral obligation enters when
man exercises his freedom.
Freedom attains its
perfection when
directed towards
God
1. Which do you believe is more important –
individual freedom or the general welfare of
society?
2. In what situation can freedom be “abused”?
In those cases, would it be acceptable to
restrict those freedom?
3. How can we use our free will to ensure
that actions are morally responsible?