FREEDOM OF THE HUMAN PERSON The person is free to perform actions that he/she considers

right and wise. A person is also free to act or not to act.

The human capacity to act (or not to act) as we choose or prefer
without any external compulsion or restraint. 3. MORAL FREEDOM
Using freedom in a manner that upholds human dignity and
Important indication of human freedom is the ability to MAKE goodness.
CHOICES and PERFORM ACTIONS. Our freedom to act sets us Example:
apart from other beings.  Doing charitable works
 Participating on outreach activities
ANIMALS  Being sensitive to the needs of others
 Respond to commands  Being prudent on the use of social media
 Trained and conditioned to perform  Participating on volunteer works
 Act instinctively (actions are predetermined responses to
certain stimuli) FREE WILL
Free will is the ability to choose different courses of action
HUMAN PERSONS without restrictions. If we exercise our free will, we get to
 Can choose the course of action to take when given a stimulus decide on things that will lead to results, either good or bad,
or faced with a certain situation. beneficial or not.

ARISTOTLE ELEMENTS OF FREEDOM

(The Power of Volition)
 VOLITION is the ability or power to use or discharge one’s VOLUNTARINESS
will. Comes from the Latin word ‘voluntarius’ which means “of
 If there were no intellect, there would be no will. one’s free will”. A choice being made of a person’s free
 It is within the power of everyone to be good or bad, or worthy will.
or worthless.
 The happiness of every human being is in his own hands, to RESPONSIBILITY
preserve and develop, or to cast away. refers to the person being accountable for his or her action
 For Aristotle, a human being is RATIONAL. Reason is a and their consequences.
divine characteristic.
FREEDOM OF CHOICE AND ACTIONS
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS Our free will enables us to commit actions we deem
(Freedom is Spirituality and Love) appropriate for a situation.
 Freedom, for St. Thomas, is the manner intellectual being seek
UNIVERSAL GOODNESS. Every action has a corresponding result or consequence.
 St. Thomas considers the human being as a MORAL AGENT.
 Whether we choose to be “good” or “evil” becomes our CONSEQUENTIALISM
responsibility. An action that brings about MORE BENEFIT than harm is
good.
JEAN PAUL SARTRE
(Individual Freedom) There are evidences of this idea in the works of
 For Sartre, the human person build the road to the destiny of EPICURUS but it is closely associated with English
his/her choosing: he/she is the creator. Philosopher, JEREMY BENTHAM.
 Sartre’s Existentialism stems from this principle: EXISTENCE
comes before ESSENCES. UTILITARIANISM
 Sartre emphasizes the importance of FREE INDIVIDUAL Form of consequentialism.
CHOICE, regardless of the power of other people to influence Advocates actions that foster happiness or pleasure and
and coerce our desires, beliefs, and decisions. oppose actions that cause unhappiness or harm. When
 Freedom means exercising our capacity to make decisions, directed towards making social, economic or political
change our life path and direct the course of our lives through decisions, it would aim for the betterment of society as a
our own steering. whole.
 Freedom is something that is exercised through our CHOICES.
ETHICAL EGOISM
THOMAS HOBBES, JEAN-JACQUES ROUSSEAU AND maximizes good for oneself.
JOHN LOCKE
 MORAL DILEMMA
Theory of Social Contract Occurs when a person is trapped between a situation that
 Social Contract- an agreement where individuals sacrifice their poses a serious conflict with his or her principles and
freedom and submit to a higher authority. values.
 Hobbes, Rousseau and Locke define freedom of an individual
in the context of having a government to rule them (contract), Occurs at times when a person has to do two things but
which is the basis of notion of moral obligation and duty. cannot do them at the same time and failure to do so can
 It is a necessity that we must assure for the government and cause harm.
people to work as one. From this understanding also arises
certainty that we have freedom. PRUDENCE and SELF-REFLECTION

1. PHYSICAL FREEDOM PRUDENCE

Refers to the ABSENCE of any PHYSICAL RESTRAINT. is the ability to govern and discipline oneself with the use
The person has the freedom of mobility to go where he/she of reason; it is having caution and giving good judgments
wants to go. in making decisions. Making hard choices is an exercise of
freedom. But freedom should also be based on knowledge
2. PSYCHOLOGICAL FREEDOM and wise reasoning. Hence, we should practice self
Also called as “FREEDOM OF CHOICE”. reflection on every decision we make.
SELF-REFLECTION
allows each person to analyze his life both in small and big
details in terms of the decisions, actions and choices he
make Browning, G. (2009).