WEEKLY LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET
Introduction to the Philosophy of Human Person Grade 12, Quarter 2, Week 2
FREEDOM OF THE HUMAN PERSON
Name: ___________________________________________ Section: ____________________
Key Concepts
What is Freedom?
- The ability to make choices and perform those choices.
- The ability to be what we want to decide and create oneself
Two concepts that will help us fully understand freedom:
1. Freedom itself
According to Meriam Dictionary, 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
according to Aristotle. It is also an intrinsic and an essential property of a human person which basically
means, it is part of our human nature.
Example:
Think of yourself as a student, your teacher told you to study your lessons for the day for you will have a long
quiz the next meeting. However, as you reached home you find yourself having a good time doing Facebook and
online chatting with your friends. Using your freedom, you can either choose to follow your teacher’s advice to study
your lessons for your quiz the next morning or continue doing the thing which you find enjoyable.
2. 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.
To sum it all, our freedom then could trace down in a person’s exercise of his rationality/intellect
and free will. Simply that individual actions as it is freely chosen by an individual it then defines who and
what kind of person one is. We all are free to choose, to be good person and act on it accordingly or be a
bad person and act in a bad way. As our actions and choices reflects us doing what is good and acting on
it is what makes you a good person while on the other hand doing the negative will also give a negative
impression to an individual. This has been tackled on the previous lesson that self-determination or the
ability to choose on what is right and wrong, that a person’s action determines what kind of person he or
she becomes.
Author: AVA MARIE A. LAMPAD
School/Station: SOCORRO NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
Division: SIARGAO
email address:
[email protected] Kinds of Freedom
1. Physical 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/her actions by any physical force. Granted that the
person has natural limitations, physical freedom allows him/her to act and move in determined manner. You cannot
be everywhere at once, but your freedom allows you to move one place to another and to go whenever you want to
go.
2. Psychological Freedom
Psychological freedom is also called freedom of choice. The person is free to perform actions
that he/she considers right and wise. A person is also free to act or not act. Psychological freedom is innate and
cannot be denied to a person. No outside force or influence can compel a person to act against his/her will.
3. 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/she pleases. A person must use his/her freedom to grow
as a person. A person becomes freer when he/she uses freedom well, but becomes less free when he/she uses it in a
bad way. Humans have a natural inclination for what is true and good, and when a person uses his/her freedom to
do acts that violates human dignity and goodness, he/she dehumanizes himself/herself and effectively negates
human freedom.
Elements of Freedom:
1. Voluntariness
It is the ability of a person to act of his/her own free will and self-determination. A person may
decide to do things or not to it according to his own free will. It also means that even though she/he is not
required to do such things he/she could still do it or take action on it.
2. 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. For example, if you made a bad action, it’s either you take responsibility of it or other people
will hold you responsible for it.
Important Factors to consider in the exercise of Freedom
Prudence is the ability to govern and discipline oneself with the use of reason; it is having caution and
giving good judgements in the making decisions. Because once we decided there is no turning back, there is
no rewind, so we should always reflect first on the possible outcomes of the choices that we are going to
make. Self-reflection is very important in exercising freedom.
Self-Reflection allows 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. As free beings, exercising our
freedom responsibly is very important. Thus, it requires us to reflect on the actions that we are going to
make by considering its possible effects and the benefits it has to the people affected by it.
Freedom should be exercised with control and reasonable limits
Author: AVA MARIE A. LAMPAD
School/Station: SOCORRO NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
Division: SIARGAO
email address:
[email protected] 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. Giving limits to our personal freedom simply means
sacrificing certain self-interest and accept that there are things beyond our control. Our ability to think and know
what is right and what is wrong serves as guide in recognizing and deciding the limitations of our freedom.
As a rational being, 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.
It is recognized and guaranteed right for all persons. Meaning, freedom should be enjoyed by all. But it is
important to remember that freedom should be exercised not as a tool to restrict the freedom of others, but to
enable others to fully enjoy their own freedom.
Exercises / Activities
- Activity No. 1: & My Reflection
Write your reflection on the space provided below.
Look at the pictures. What can you say about the pictures? Have you been in this kind of situation? What are
the things you considered in making choices? Write your reflection.
(Activity 1: My Reflection)
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Author: AVA MARIE A. LAMPAD
School/Station: SOCORRO NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
Division: SIARGAO
email address:
[email protected] ______________________________________________________________________________________________
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Rubrics for Checking:
Activity
Recall a situation in your life that in where you apply prudence in making a choice. How
does this decision create an impact in your life?
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Author: AVA MARIE A. LAMPAD
School/Station: SOCORRO NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
Division: SIARGAO
email address:
[email protected]
