The Freedom and Accountability of the Human Person PDF

THE FREEDOM AND ACCOUNTABILITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON INTRODUCTION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON WHAT I NEED This module entitled: “The Freedom and Accountability of the Human Person” will look TO KNOW more deeply into the meaning of accountability in...

THE FREEDOM AND ACCOUNTABILITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON INTRODUCTION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON WHAT I NEED This module entitled: “The Freedom and Accountability of the Human Person” will look TO KNOW more deeply into the meaning of accountability in the philosophical context that holds in exercising the human freedom. After going through this module, you are expected to: 1. Understand the nature of accountability, 2. identify and explain the conditions for attributing accountability, 3. realize that “choices and all actions have consequences,” 4. identify situations that demonstrate human person’s freedom of choice and the consequences of his/her choices, and 5. evaluate and exercise prudence in one’s choices. Imagine that you were chosen to receive a Presidential Award for this School Year because of an exemplary task you have had performed. The President asked you to choose just one of the following prizes: A. a house and lot for your family B. a 4-year college educational scholarship at any school in the Philippines C. a total of Php500,000.00 worth of latest gadgets, laptop, school supplies, and Appliances Guide Questions: 1. Which prize are you going to choose? 2. What factors made you come up with that decision? Sir Isaac Newton in the 1600, a natural philosopher who is widely recognized as one of the most influential scientists of all time and as a key figure in the scientific revolution, presented the 3rd Law of Motion which basically states that “for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” If object A exerts a force on object B, then object B also exerts an equal and opposite force on object A. Newton’s third law of motion philosophically explains the life upbringings to both good and bad consequences depending on human person’s actions. Sometimes the consequences are predictable though sometimes, not. We just have to trust that, if we make the right choices, good consequences will follow (Hammerman). MEANING OF ACCOUNTABILITY The human person’s freedom enables him/her to choose which action will be performed. On the other hand, accountability refers to the obligation of an organization or individual for a set of duties that one is performed that issue rewards/praises or punishments. We deserve praise or reward for choosing an action we know to be good and we deserve blame or punishment for choosing to do an action we know to be bad (Mabaquiao, Jr., 2017). A person who is accountable may be called upon to answer and account for outcomes. ACCOUNTABILITY VS. RESPONSIBILITY (SPACEY, 2018) Accountability is the duty to govern or manage while responsibility is the duty to complete a work. When a work or product or decision fails, both those who are accountable and responsible are to blame. The accountable individual has greater blame and may take all the blame if they so choose. ACCOUNTABILITY VS. RESPONSIBILITY If a creative director assigns EXAMPLE a design to an associate designer that ends up on disappointing the client, it would be common for the creative director to take the blame as they should have managed the quality of work outputs. It is a poor practice for leaders to attempt to avoid accountability by assigning all blame to responsible individuals. ACCOUNTABILITY VS. AUTHORITY (SPACEY, 2018) Authority always implies accountability. Authority is the power or right to direct, control, and command. A system that grants authority without accountability is essentially broken. ACCOUNTABILITY VS. AUTHORITY EXAMPLE A corporate executive who is protected from accountability by the terms of their contract may have little incentive to make decisions that are in the best interests of stakeholders. DEGREES OF ACCOUNTABILITY The Degree of Difficulty or Pressure The Intensity of the Wrongdoing The Degree of One’s Involvement The Degree of Knowledge  1. THE DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY OR PRESSURE e greater is the degree of difficulty or pressure, th the lesser is the degree of accountability; or the lesser the degree of difficulty or pressure, the greater the degree of accountability. person who steals a loaf bread to feed his Example: A starving family has a lesser degree of accountability compared to a person who steals fortunes just to amuse himself. 2. THE INTENSITY OF THE WRONGDOING e extent or gravity of the injury done to a th person as a consequence of the wrongful action, the greater is the intensity of the wrongdoing (or the greater is the injury), the greater is the degree of accountability, or the lesser is the intensity of the wrongdoing, the lesser is the degree of accountability. Example: pesos from a beggar has a greater Stealing 50 degree of accountability compared to stealing a thousand pesos from a billionaire. Or stealing a loaf bread from a bakery has a lesser degree of accountability compared to stealing it from a person who just bought it for his own starving family.  3. THE DEGREE OF ONE’S INVOLVEMENT nvolves a collective action. The greater the i degree of involvement, the greater is the degree of accountability; or the lesser the degree of involvement, the lesser is the degree accountability. person who intentionally and knowingly Example: The assists a murderer in locating the whereabouts of his victim is accountable for the eventual death of the victim but to lesser degree compared to a murderer who kills the victim himself.  4. THE DEGREE OF KNOWLEDGE the degree of one’s knowledge of the wrongfulness of an action and relevant facts, the more accountable one is; or the less knowledgeable one is about the wrongfulness of an action and relevant facts, the less accountable one is. Example: Doing the same kind of crime, the law gives a lesser degree of punishment to a minor compared to a normal adult. DEGREES OF ACCOUNTABILITY The Degree of Difficulty or Pressure The Intensity of the Wrongdoing The Degree of One’s Involvement The Degree of Knowledge Guide Questions: When problems develop, do you run and hide or attack the problem? How do you maintain energy and direction around self- management? How will you hold yourselves accountable for something? REALIZE THAT “ALL ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES” Actions are result of your thinking, beliefs, and several other things deciding your behavior and relationships. Al the human person’s ideas and ideals like love, truth, reality, knowledge, wisdom, compassion, truth, reality, self, etc. are linked knowingly or unknowingly with each action and also its consequences. In other words, nothing is in our hands except choices and responses which we can use with wisdom born out of experience. ARISTOTLE - THE POWER OF VOLITION Volition is the faculty or power of using one's will. If there were no intellect, there would be no will. The will of humanity is an instrument of free choice. It is within the power of everyone to be good or bad, worthy or worthless. The human person’s will is an instrument of free choice. Reason, will, and action drives each other. Example: Attending class is a student’s responsibility. Should the student cut class, then he/she is responsible for the consequences of his actions. As a result, he/she must be held responsible for any accident or failure in grades that will befall on him/her. The student may regret what he/she had done, but all the regrets in the world will not call it back. The point is, the student should not have cut class in the first instance. When the matter is sifted down, the happiness of every human being’s soul is in his own hands, to preserve and develop, or to cast away (Ramos, 2017). ST. THOMAS AQUINAS – LOVE IS FREEDOM St. Thomas Aquinas considers man as a moral agent because human persons have a conscience. Whether choose to be good or evil becomes a great responsibility. St. Thomas wisely chose and proposed Love rather than law to bring about the transformation of humanity. For love is in consonance with humanity’s free nature, for Law commands and complete; love only calls and invites. St. Thomas emphasizes the freedom of humanity but chooses love in governing humanity’s life. Since God is love, then Love is the guiding principle of humanity toward his self-perception and happiness – his ultimate destiny. JEAN PAUL SARTRE: INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM Sartre’s existentialism stems from this principle: existence precedes essence. The person is provided with a supreme opportunity to give meaning to one’s life. In the course of giving meaning to ones’ life, one fills the world with meaning. Freedom is, therefore, the very core and the door to authentic existence. Authentic existence is realized only in deeds that are committed alone in absolute freedom and responsibility and which, therefore, the character of true creation. Sartre emphasizes the importance of free individual choice, regardless of the power of other people to influence and coerce our desires, beliefs and decisions. To be human, to be conscious, is to be free to imagine, free to choose and be responsible for ones’ life. THOMAS HOBBES – THEORY OF SOCIAL CONTRACT A “Law of Nature” is a precept or general rule established by reason, by which a person is forbidden to do that which is destructive of his life or takes away the means of preserving the same; and to omit that by which he thinks it may be best preserved. Hobbes concludes that in order to preserve our lives, We should first seek peace as a law of nature. We should mutually divest ourselves of certain rights (CONTRACT). We should be willing like others. We should lay down this right to all things. We should be contented with so much liberty against other people, as we would allow other people to go against themselves JEAN-JACQUES ROUSSEAU (VS. THOMAS HOBBES) Hobbes thinks that to end continuous and self-destructive conditions of warfare, humanity founded the state with its sovereign power of control by means of mutual consent. On the other hand, Rousseau believes that a human being is born free and good. Now, he is in chains, and has become bad due to evil influences of society, civilization and progress that result to dissension, conflict, fraud and deceit. Every choice we make in life has a consequence. Some of those consequences are minor, some are major (Forbes, 2015). It pays to consider your choices well. Each decision you make in life brings with it certain outcomes. If you make better decisions, you will get better outcomes. That is a simple truth and we are the sum of the choices we have made. JEAN-JACQUES ROUSSEAU (VS. THOMAS HOBBES) By being responsible for our own lives, and being accountable for the decisions we have made we can change our lives for the better. Making choices involves various options. It should be realized from the beginning that some things will eventually be given up in exchange for another. Before coming up with a final decision, it is important to first weigh the contributions and consequences that may arise upon choosing a certain option. Nevertheless, the effects of all choices result in your decision making should be ready to face. Newton’s Law of Action and Reaction gives us an incredible insight into the balance and battle between the positive and negative in our life. The takeaway lesson from this law is that we should always look for ways to increase our good actions and habits. As you add more and more positive aspects to your life, the negatives will start to decrease without you even focusing on them. That is the magic of this natural law. If you focus on increasing the positives, you are forcing a decrease in the negatives. GUIDE QUESTIONS How can a human person’s decisions and actions change his/her life? How do decisions, actions, and consequences vary depending on the different perspectives of the people involved? Does knowing the consequences of an action change the ethics of doing it? EXERCISING PRUDENCE IN CHOICES We all have those bad habits that just frustrate us from time to time. It could be procrastination, laziness, unhealthy substance addictions, self-criticism, gossiping, over-eating, social media addiction, or anything else that we feel holds us back. The more of them that we hold onto, the less time and opportunities we will have available to move over to the positive side of the scale. By being responsible for our own lives, and being accountable for the decisions we've made we can change our lives for the better. We can make the choice to be happy, and make a decision to react positively to all of life's situations. We can take control and be a victor and not a victim. EXERCISING PRUDENCE IN CHOICES Prudence is an act of making good judgment that allows a person to avoid risks. It is important to be prudent at all times to prevent any harm that a decision may cause. In making a decision, it is critical to determine the adverse effects beforehand to avoid greater risks. Exercising prudence in choice implies that one has already criticized all available options, and a well-thought-of choice has been made (Quipper School, 2016). The skills required to be prudent are decision-making skills. Taking the time to learn good decision-making skills will help you become a more prudent person. Learning decision-making skills provides the opportunity to increase positive outcomes while decreasing the consequences of failure that are part of the learning process. EXERCISING PRUDENCE IN CHOICES Below are some situations that show freedom of choice and the consequence of choices that made by human person in all walks of life (Dangcalan, 2018). 1. Biblical Situation (Dr. Michael L. Williams) In the Garden Genesis 3:6-7 “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.” EXERCISING PRUDENCE IN CHOICES Undoubtedly, the choice that had the biggest consequence in history took place in the Garden of Eden. Eve sinned because she was deceived, while Adam chose to sin despite of knowing better. Likewise, this demonstrates that we too can be sinned because we are deceived or sinned despite of knowing better. 2. If the government has not increased the teachers’ salaries, as a part of measures to make our system whole again, the teachers have a choice. They can either accept to stay their position or find other employment. This is no different than anyone else in any other position. When making a choice, a human person must be aware of how his/her choice will affect the future consequences of his/her lives. The application of the virtue of prudence and frugality in decision making is a better option.