LESSON 5: FREEDOM OF THE HUMAN PERSON * but only through will

* our will is an instrument of free choice

Keys:
 Philosophers (A, ST, JP, TH, R – views)
 Fourfold classification
 Laws
 Kasarilihan, tayo-tayo, kami-kami
 BF Skinner
 Yelon
 Rand
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS - LOVE IS FREEDOM
Freedom consists of going beyond situations such  Human beings have the unique power to
as physical or economic. Students can be young change themselves and the thing around
and poor, but they can still pursue their dreams them for the better.
of becoming a doctor, teacher or a stage actor.  Human beings as a moral agent.
 We have a conscience through our
5.1 REALIZE THAT “ALL ACTIONS HAVE spirituality.
CONSEQUENCES  Whether we choose to be ‘good’ or ‘evil’
becomes our responsibility.
 If the human being perseveringly lives a
PHILOSOPHERS AND THEIR VIEWS: righteous and virtuous life, he transcends
1. Aristotle – Power of Volition his mortal state of life and soars to an
2. St. Thomas Aquinas – Love is Freedom immortal state of life.
3. Jean Paul Sarte – Individual Freedom  The power of change is achieved through
4. Thomas Hobbes – Theory of Social cooperation with God.
Contact  Union of humanity with God
5. Jean-Jacques Rousseau – Political  Change for the good of the community.
Freedom
FOURFOLD CLASSIFICATION OF LAW:
ARISTOTLE - POWER OF VIOLATION 1. ETERNAL LAW
 The imperative quality of a judgement of 2. NATURAL LAW
practical intellect is meaningless, apart 3. HUMAN LAW
from will, 4. DIVINE LAW
 Only through will can
 If there were no intellect, there would be  HUMAN LAW – should be obeyed
no will. voluntarily and with understanding (e.g
 The will of humanity is an instrument of following traffic rules).
free choice.  NATURAL LAW – its ethical sense, applies
 Moral acts are in out power and we are only to human beings. Good is to be
responsible for it. sought after and evil avoided (e.g if there
is fire, a human tendency is to avoid it).
It is within the power of everyone to be good or  Both NATURAL and HUMAN LAWS are
bad, worthy or worthless. connected with ends determined simply
- Character or habits is no excuse for immoral by humanity’s nature.
conduct.  DIVINE LAW – human being is ordained to
an end transcending his nature. It is
ARISTOTLE: INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM necessary that he has a law ordering him
* A human being is rational to that end.
* reason is divine characteristic.
* humans have the spark of the divine. ETERNAL LAW – the decree of God that governs
* if there is no intellect, there would be no will. all creation.
* reason can legistate.
NATURAL LAW – the human participation in the  The person, first, exist, encounters himself
eternal law and is discovered by reason. Based on and surges up in the world then defines
first principle himself afterwards
 The person is provided with a supreme
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS opportunity to give meaning to one’s life
 He chose and proposed Love rather then  Freedom is the very core and the door to
law to bring about the transformation of authentic existence
humanity  The person is what one has done and is
 Love is conscience with humanity’s free doing
nature  The human person who tries to escape
 Law commands and complete obligations and strives to be en-soi
 Love only calls and invite (excuses) is acting on bad faith (mauviais
 Freedom of humanity but love in fai)
governing humanity’s life
 Since God is love, then love is the guiding THOMAS HOBBES - THEORY OF SOCIAL CONTACT
principle of humanity toward his self-  A Law of Nature (lex naturalis) is a precept
perception and happiness or general rule establishes by reason, by
which a person is forbidden to do that
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS: SPIRITUAL FREEDOM which is destructive of his life or takes
away the means of preserving the same;
* Existence of God is first cause and to omit that by which he thinks it may
* Human being has the unique power to change be the best preserved
themselves and things around them for the  Hobbes concludes that we should seek
better. peace
* Humans are both material and spiritual  Human beings seek self-preservation and
* We have conscience because of our spirituality security; however they are unable to
* God is love and love is our destiny attain this end in the natural condition of
war.

JEAN-JACQUES ROUSSEAU - THE SOCIAL

CONTRACT
 In his book, The Social Contract, he
elaborated his theory of human nature.
 In Rousseau, a new era of sentimentality
piety founds its beginning.
 The “EDSA Revolution” is an example,
though an imperfect one of what the
theory of Social Contract is all about.
 The term of “Social Contract” is not an
actual historical event. It is a philosophical
fiction, a metaphor, and a certain way of
looking at a society of voluntary collection
of agreeable individuals.
JEAN PAUL SARTE - INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM
 Sarte’s philosophy is considered to be a HOBBES AND ROSSEAU: POLITICAL FREEDOM
representative of existentialism - There must be a common power or
 The human person is the desire to be God government which the plurality of
 The human person builds the road to individuals (citizens) should confer all their
destiny of his/her choosing. powers and strength into (freedom) one
 He/she is the creator. will (ruler)

EXISTENCE PRECEDES ESSENSE

 YELON
 Punishment is a means to the formation
of motives, reward is a means to the
formation of incentive.

5.3 CHOICES HAVE CONSEQUENCES AND SOME

THINGS ARE GIVEN UP WHILE OTHERS ARE
OBTAINED IN MAKING CHOICES
5.2 EVALUATE AND EXERCISE PRUDENCE IN
CHOICES

AYN RAND (1996)

B.F SKINNER  Individual mind is a tool for economic
OPERANT CONDITIONING progress (laissez faire capitalism)
- organism learns through the consequences of its  Thinking is volitional
behavior  Individual rights are not merely numbers
FREEDOM  Human beings have rights, there should
-when one “feels free” or “believes that he is also be responsibility
free”  Cited the right to gain, to keep, to use and
to dispose of material values
 Individualism is lined in family
dependency

5.4 SHOW SITUATIONS THAT DEMONSTRATE

FREEDOM OF CHOICE AND THE CONSEQUENCE
OF THEIR CHOICES
B.F SKINNER: SOLUTION
AYN RAND
- “to make the social environment as free
as possible from aversive stimuli, we do  Individual freedom should be aligned with
not need to destroy the environment or economic freedom
escape from it”  the Filipino “sakop” or harmony can be a
- not to control the person, but to helping value to the full devepoment of
“redesign” its environment the Filipino
 Individualism reinforces kasarilihan (self-
sufficient), as such, it discourages
subservience from external control higher
than itself
 “Kasarilihan” promotes entrepreneurship,
which minimize foreign control of Filipinos
 Individualism should be tied with social
responsibility and should not be just
“tayo-tayo” or “kami-kami”.