Freedom of the Human Person PDF

PHILOSOPHY Quarter 2 FREEDOM OF THE HUMAN PERSON - freedom is rooted in the human - Intrinsic and essential property of the person’s self-determination and the person exercise of intellect and free will - Human person...

PHILOSOPHY Quarter 2 FREEDOM OF THE HUMAN PERSON - freedom is rooted in the human - Intrinsic and essential property of the person’s self-determination and the person exercise of intellect and free will - Human person by nature is a free - this is the nature of self-determination: being, it is in their nature to seek that a person’s actions determine what freedom kind of person he or she becomes - Intrinsic value – the value that that - freedom gives us the choice to thing has “in itself”, or “for its own undertake on possible actions, but it sake”, or “as such”, or “in its own also enables us to come up with new right.” choices - a person’s every action is freely - the essence of freedom is that it does determined and defines him or her not confine our actions to those set or - a good act makes a person better expected by others; we can imagine - your actions determine if you uphold new actions and decide to undertake human dignity and freedom them - a person becomes freer when he or - having freedom entails certain she exercises control over himself or responsibilities herself - freedom requires a degree of control - on the other hand, a person becomes from the person who exercises it free when he is no longer in control of - freedom is experienced through the himself or herself and is instead act of making choices controlled by other forces (e.g. people Self-reflection who act solely based on their emotions - vital in the proper exercise of human are less free because they allow freedom themselves to be controlled by their - exercising freedom requires us to feelings without any regard for ethical reflect on our actions, consider their considerations) effects, and make the proper choices - slavery is a dehumanizing act because regarding the most beneficial decisions a person is forced to work for life or actions without the possibility of ever leaving a - reflecting upon your actions will enable life of bondage you to know yourself better as a Freedom person - an important indication of human freedom is the ability to make choices Types of Freedom Physical Freedom and perform actions - our freedom to act sets us apart from - refers to the absence of any physical other beings restraint - a person can choose the course of - the person has the freedom of mobility action to take when given a stimulus or to go where he or she wants to go faced with a certain situation - granted that the human person has - freedom is also understood as the natural limitations, physical freedom power to be what you want to be and allows him or her to act and move in a the ability to decide and create determined manner yourself (i.e. our talents are developed Psychological Freedom to their fullest only if we choose to - called freedom of choice dedicate time and effort to improve - the person is free to perform actions them) that he or she considers right and wise sadgjadd ☀️🌔  - a person is also free to act or not to act How can I exercise my freedom in a - no outside fore or influence can responsible and beneficial manner? compel a person to take action against - “My freedom to swing my fist ends his or her will where your nose begins” – this statement points to the fact that human Moral Freedom freedom, though essential, is not - refers to using freedom in a manner absolute. that upholds human dignity and goodness Human freedom should be exercised - freedom is not an object that a person with control and a recognition of reasonable limits may use in whatever way he or she pleases - We set limits to our own freedom and - a person must use his or her freedom learn to moderate or control our to grow as a person thoughts, emotions, and actions depending on the situation What makes us free? How does freedom - A person can even choose to limit his shape our experiences? or her own freedom or even surrender Voluntariness it entirely if it will result to - Limiting our personal freedom requires - ability of a person to act out of his or us to sacrifice certain self-interests and her own free will and self- accept certain realities that are beyond determination our control - a person may decide to act, and these - Our sense of right and wrong guides decisions are made of his or her own us in recognizing and deciding on the free will limitations to our freedom - a person may act even if he or she is - Our society also imposes restrictions not required or called to act on our individual freedom - voluntary acts are free acts which can be assigned a corresponding moral Freedom should also be exercised with value regard for knowledge and truth Responsibility - As rational beings, it is natural for us to think before we act - the person being accountable for his or - We use our freedom to act and acquire her actions and their consequences more knowledge and we use this - can mean a person voluntarily taking knowledge in order to come up with responsibility for his or her own decisions and courses of actions when actions, or being held responsible by confronted with difficult situations other people In examining our actions, habits and Freedom should also be exercised to behavior, we have to ask ourselves the recognize and uphold not only our following questions: individual freedom but also the freedom 1. What should I do? of others 2. Why should I do it? - This view has led to the assertion that 3. What will happen if I do it? freedom is recognized and guaranteed 4. How will my actions or behaviors affect right for all persons myself, others, and my surroundings? - Freedom that should be enjoyed by all: 5. Will my actions or behaviors be to live and determine one’s identity, considered correct, proper, beneficial, from slavery and other constraints, and moral? speech, thought, conscience, and religion. sadgjadd ☀️🌔  INTERSUBJECTIVITY - However, the thinking of a person - Refers to shared meanings cannot be doubted constructed by people in their Seeming interactions with each other - Actions where an individual presents - Allows a person to become closer to theirself in a certain way when dealing others in many different ways with others - Pakikipagkapwa-tao - Taking on roles or act out characters when dealing with certain people or Jean-Paul Sartre when in certain situations - When you look at a person, the act of - There may be instances when people objectification allows you to capture behave a certain way in order to that person’s freedom to be what he or intentionally deceive or manipulate she wants to be other people - You are limiting a person’s possibilities Dialogue by a look - Deeper and more genuine interaction Totalization - Not confined to words alone, actions, - Occurs when one limits the other to a gestures, and other expressions may set of rational categories, racial, or be used to convey a person’s inner life otherwise - Occurs when two people open up to - One totalizes the other when we claim each other he/she already is that person before they can even speak Recognizing and Relating to Others Martin Bubber Edmund Husserl - A jewish philosopher who had a great - Intersubjectivity is more than just interest in the study of relating shared understanding, but is the ourselves to others capability to put oneself in a place - He said the “I” or yourself can only be where others are realized through recognition of “others” Empathy - The “I” cannot be aware of its - The ability to share emotions enables uniqueness and existence without one to experience another person’s encountering the “other” emotions, such as happiness, anger, The “I-I” Relationship and sadness - Talking to other people does not - Empathy – “I feel how you feel” interest them - Sympathy – “I know how you feel” - If they talk to others, it is the “I” who Availability will be the center of conversation - Willingness of a person to be present The “I-It” Relationship and be at the disposal of another - Some people treat other people to the The Ethics of Care status of objects – an it - An ethical theory that emphasizes the - Results in alienation moral dimension of relationships and - Alienation – negative view that arises interactions when a person ceases to view the - Helping those who are in need of help other as a distinct and authentic Rene Descartes person and merely considers the other person as a mere object or a means to - Advocate of individualism satisfy personal interests - Resolved to doubt absolutely that Employers treat their workers like could be possibly doubted machines or robots who are immune to sadgjadd ☀️🌔  physical, verbal, psychological, and - Having an inner life of interiority allows emotional abuse the person to give themselves to A bully who treats a person with a others disability as an object of his How can Philosophy help you evaluate amusement your relationships with others? A liquor company using the body of a - Important values related to woman as their advertisement to intersubjectivity: improve sales Acceptance of differences Friends with benefits Embracing diversity The “I-Thou” Relationship - Reflecting on our interactions can - In which genuine sharing of one better inform us of the motivations that another takes place drive us to reach out and interact with - The “I” treats the person as “thou” – others another person who is different and - Knowledge of intersubectivity and has a different set of interests, visions, opportunities provides for fostering belief, values, and characteristics personal growth and welfare – enables - Center of relationship is a dialogue, a us to make better choices and genuine form of conversation decisions as we continue to relate with Authentic Dialogue others and uphold positive - Form of interpersonal communication relationships in our lives. - Occurs when people recognize that Hellen Keller (1880-1968) they are part of a greater whole and - American author, political activist, and can relate with others within the whole the first deaf-blind person to earn a - In some cases, non-verbal dialogue bachelor’s degree relations are not only the more appropriate means of conversation but Nicholas James “Nick” Vujicic (born are considered a profound form of 1982) conversation - An Australian evangelist and motivational speaker who was born How do we, as human persons, relate with phocomelia, a condition in which a with others? - Humans have the natural and person is born with no arms or legs universal tendency to relate, to Roselle Ambubuyog (born 1980) establish attachments, and seek close - First visually-impaired Filipino to relationships with other people graduate summa cum lauda from - Our ability to engage in meaningful Ateneo de Manila University in 2001 interactions is rooted in our capacity for self-awareness and transcendence - We must first be aware of ourselves as rational individuals capable of determine and reasonable action - International relations are made possible when the self becomes aware of the other - The notion of recognizing the self in the other is how philosophers define interpersonal relations sadgjadd ☀️🌔  HUMAN PERSON IN SOCIETY - Fishing societies – more definite home - Humans are able to influence society sites and permanent residences through their actions - Herding societies – rely on the - Society also makes the emergence of domestication and breeding of animals certain individualities possible for food - The survival of a human being is Agricultural Society essentially rooted in society and - Technological advancement to human relations cultivate crops (esp grains like wheat, Society rice, corn, and barley) over a large - Large, independent, and organzed area group of people living in the same - Engages over a large-scale based on territory and sharing a common culture the us of plows drawn by animals and heritage. - Harnessing of animals - Society is founded on the concept of - Development of metal tools the common good. - Knowledge of irrigation and fertilization - The common good – refers to the - Increases food supplies led to larger social conditions which enable persons populations than in earlier and groups to fulfill their goals and communities achieve their well-being - Villages and towns expanded into Culture neighboring areas, conflicts occurred - Way of life of a group of people - Farmer provided warriors with food in - The behaviour, belief, and values that exchange for protection against they accept, generally without thinking invasion by enemies about them and that are passed along - A system of rulers with high social by communication and imitation from status appeared one generation to next Industrial Society Different Forms of Society - Uses advanced sources of energy to run large machinery Hunting and Gathering - People and goods traveled because of - Primary institution is the family, which innovations in transportation decides how food is to be shared and - Rural areas lost population because how children are to be socialized more and more people were engaged - Stones and wood are the pre-dominant in factory work and had to move to raw materials for the construction of cities tools and weapons - Tribal – members shared ancestral Pastoral Society heritage and a common set of - People lived in a certain place and traditions and rituals started to pasture animals for - Headman – the political leader transportation and permanent food - Shaman – the spiritual leader Post-Industrial Society Horticultural - Establishment of societies based on - Used hand tools to raise crops knowledge, information, and the sale - People no longer depend in gathering of services edible crops - Transition from practical to theoretical: - Transfer only from one area to another replacement of manual labor jobs with when there is shortage of water and professional jobs land resources - Formation of new field of science sadgjadd ☀️🌔 - Transitioned from economy of goods to John Rawls economy of services - Human beings approach social - Increased the rate of innovation and cooperation rationally in order to meet invention of new technologies and their self-interests. explored their applications - Introduced a version of the natural state which he called the original Social Contract Theory - an act by which individuals agree to position. form a government. - He imagined humans as having a “veil of ignorance,” or no knowledge of Thomas Hobbes one’s characteristics such as gender, - Persons in their natural states are race, or social status. governed by their desires and these Primary Principle of Rawl’s Veil of often lead to conflict with their Ignorance fellowmen. 1. Liberty Principle - ensure that - Individuals who establish societies everyone enjoys the maximum liberty enter a “social contract” – an possible without intruding upon the agreement where individuals sacrifice freedom of others. an amount of their freedom and submit 2. Equal Opportunity Principle - everyone to a higher authority. - it guides moral has an equal opportunity to prosper. behavior. People will give up their David Gauthier freedom. - Described people’s self-interest as a John Locke significant factor in building and - Considered persons in their natural maintaining societies. states as more cooperative and - People choose to cooperate since it is reasonable, and that society is formed beneficial to meet their self-interests. through the consent of the individuals (E.g. the government exists only by the that organized it. (Consent of the consent of people to protect basic Governed) rights and promote the common good - A covenant among individuals to in society) cooperate and share the burden of How does society influence our upholding the welfare of society. development as persons? - Men were equal and free to act as they - The person and society have a very thought fit in, but within the bounds of dynamic relationship in which one the law of nature. cannot exist without the other Jean Jacques Rosseau - It is important to consider society’s role - General will in the growth and development of a - He believed that even if the people are person, and the person’s role in the ones who organized society and transforming society established an authority or Society influences our development as government, in extreme cases, the persons in various ways government is able to impose its will - is the backdrop by which we adopt the on the people. (E.g. the state can force prevailing culture, identity, values, people to pay taxes or even send them ideas, and knowledge of the persons, to war if it is necessary. This does not groups, and communities that violate their freedom, because their surround us freedom is based precisely on the - shapes all individuals that are part of it general will). sadgjadd ☀️🌔  Society influences us as persons because of its ability to define the relationships and interactions among its members Society influences the interactions through the establishment of: Norms – a set of traits and behaviors that society considers acceptable, and are passed on. Laws – formal and stringent norms that establish and define acceptable behavior Folkways – less formal norms that arise from tradition and don’t result in punishment when violated Mores – strong norms that are associated with value system of the culture and regulators of social life Taboo – activity of behavior that is considered completely unacceptable or forbidden, the prohibition from engaging in such activities through rules, law, religious doctrines, and conscience. Each member is assigned a social role, behaviors and actions that are expected of them Social groups/classes – individuals who share similar backgrounds/roles Social institutions – perform vital functions like family, school, government, religion Society transforms human relations, which leads to the transformation of its members - Our societal roles change how we relate to people Society shapes us through social values, actions or ideals considered important - Values such as cooperation, obedience to the law, concern for others, and respect for others are considered vital to maintaining an orderly society sadgjadd ☀️🌔  HUMAN PERSON AS ORIENTED time, but they are experienced TOWARDS THEIR IMPENDING together by the person because of the DEATH dynamism provided by being an embodied spirit. Death - Commonly understood as the end of The term end bodily functions which signals the end - Terminus – the full stop or end of a of a person’s life. line. Life ends and nothing follows. - Integral part of our life. - Telos – “goal, purpose, or fulfillment.” - People put great importance on speed Death is not the goal of life. and efficiency. This attitude is not bad, - The human person is not born into this but they may prevent us from reflecting world just so they could die. on the reality of death. - Man is put on this earth to live a YOLO (You Only Live Once) meaningful life, to be virtuous, and Eat, Drink, and Be Merry for achieve excellence. Tomorrow We Die - We can look at two experiences which - Understanding the person as a being make us reflect on the meaning of life: towards death brings us back to happiness and suffering freedom. Happiness - The essence of freedom is self- - Ancient Greek philosophy considers determination (capacity to choose and this as an achievement, and it must be act for oneself). gained by living a productive and - A person can exercise freedom in moral life. choosing how to face the reality of - Religious philosophers consider this as death. (E.g. A person cannot stop a union with God. himself from growing old, but he can - Other contemporary views define this choose to embrace aging gracefully.) as “whole-life satisfaction” - Other people, however, choose to - Ethics play a significant role in defining mask their physical aging such as the means to achieve happiness getting cosmetic surgery. - Happiness also has social element, as - The person, therefore, is the author we should not only be concerned and protagonist who determines the about our own happiness, but also the development and conclusion of their well-being of others. life story. - Temporality challenges us to make True Happiness choices that will be good for us and the - As we understand ourselves better, we people around us. also come to realize that happiness is - We are always in the moment – we a state of being and not merely an exist in the here and now. emotional experience or a chosen - The person’s spiritual nature allows mental attitude. him to transcend the present. - What makes a person happy is that - We cannot undo the choices we made which fits his nature – we are made because that present moment has now truly happy by things that are true and gone into the past. However, the good. choices we make in the present is not - As an embodied spirit, we must also confined to the here because it has an consider the goods or sources of impact on the future. happiness which are proper to a - Past, present, and future are no person. exclusive and isolated moments in sadgjadd ☀️🌔  Noble good – is pursued for its own - Another view considers suffering as sake; it is good in itself; ex. love and necessary because it helps existence. friendship. Without it, we are unable to grow and Useful good – considered good as improve. long as it serves as a means to an - We cannot shelter ourselves from end; its goodness is found only from suffering, but we can be prepared to what it can provide; ex. money is good deal with it so it does not break us. Pleasurable good – good as long as it - Philosophy helps us understand how provides some form of pleasure, suffering defines the state of a person though it does not have to be physical. before, during, and after experience. - It must be understood that a specific Remember that difficulties are not good cannot be categorized strictly without reason, they can bring about under one kind. good things even if we do not fully - For example, friendship may be a understand. Our hardships bring about noble good because it is good to be a realizations and opportunities for us. friend to someone. However, pursuing How do happiness, suffering, and death it with incorrect intentions (e.g. give meaning to your life? befriending someone for academic or - Reflecting on the reality of death career advancement) makes it only a enables us to think of how we can best useful good. live a meaningful life. - The kind of happiness that can be - We can strive to leave behind a legacy grained from good is also closely tied either in the form of an inheritance, a to its nature. reputation, or a significant - Material things may satisfy bodily achievement. needs and can only make a person - This also means that we also find happy temporarily because materials meaning in life when we open fade over time. ourselves to others. - Real happiness can be found in - Therefore, we have an opportunity to more permanent and meaningful enrich our lives and touch the lives of things. others. Suffering - We are different yet we are all made to - takes place when we endure live and serve one another. unpleasantness, discomfort, and pain. - People can become truly great when they live for people other than Forms of Suffering themselves. Physical Suffering – experience - When we have genuine relationships physical sensation. (E.g. discomfort, with others, we not only share in each hunger, distress, and pain) other’s happiness, but we also bring Mental Suffering – involves emotional happiness to others. and mental states. (E.g. depression, - When a person passes away, they anxiety, fear, and loneliness) continue to live on because a part of What causes suffering? that person is now with us - Our lives are works in progress, stories - Generally, suffering is viewed as an in the process of being written, and undesirable condition, and we naturally songs that are about to be sung. seek pleasure and avoid pain. Those who adopt this perspective often focus - Life is a gift given to each person and on the various means to avoid it is important to turn this life into a gift suffering. for others as well. sadgjadd ☀️🌔