Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person

The Freedom of the Human Person

What is Freedom?
- The ability to make choices and perform those choices.
- The ability to be what we want and to decide and create oneself.

Two concepts that will help us fully understand freedom:

1. Freedom itself
“Freedom is generally defined as having the ability to act or change without
constraint-Wikipedia” Someone or something is “free” if he/it can do or change anything
effortlessly and responsibly. A person or an animal has the freedom to do things that will
not, in theory, or practice, be prevented by other forces. But freedom has its particular
limitations beyond himself because he is bound by consequences of his actions either to
promote goodness or destruction to himself or other persons.
2. Free will
Free will is the ability to choose different courses of action without restrictions. If we
exercise our free will, we get to decide on things that will lead to results, either good or
bad, beneficial or not. The actions that we do depend on the values we uphold and the
acceptance and expectations of the community we live in, including family members and
friends that we care about.
To be precise, free will is our ability to choose things according to our moral
reasoning, which can also be related to our previous lesson on self-determination or the
ability to select on what is right and wrong, that a person’s action determines what kind of
person he or she becomes.
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 or her
actions by any physical force. Granted that the person has natural limitations, physical freedom
enables him or 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 or she considers right and wise. A person is also free to act or not to act.
Psychological freedom is innate and cannot be denied to a person. No outside force or influence
can compel a person to take action against his or her will.
 3. Moral Freedom

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 or she pleases.
A person must use his or her freedom to grow as a person. A person becomes freer when he or
she uses freedom well but becomes less free when he or she uses it in a wicked way. Humans
have a natural inclination for what is right and moral, and when a person uses his or her freedom
to do acts that violates human dignity and goodness, he or she dehumanizes himself or herself
and effectively negates human freedom.

Two elements that define freedom:

1. Voluntariness

It is the ability of a person to act of his or her own free will and self-determination. A person may
decide to do things or not to do 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.
Voluntary acts are free acts which can be assigned a corresponding moral value. One must
always remember that in every action we make, in every choice we make there is an equivalent
consequence. These consequences affect not just the individual who does the decision but also
other people in their surroundings. With that, one must always accept the consequences that results
from his or her choices or actions and take responsibility for them.
2. Responsibility

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 doing 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 accountable for it.

Example of voluntariness and responsibility

Mira wanted to earn extra income to support her studies. That is why she joined an online
business that offer to sell beauty products and vitamins. At first, Mira was making money enough to
support her school needs like fare and food for one week. Her demands grew better, so, she wanted to
earn more by recruiting members to join her company she knew nothing of its origin. Later, she found
out that this company was a hoax and several classmates she enlisted and even teachers she enticed
to buy warned that her products have harmful effects to a person’s kidney and liver. Still she continued
selling because she needed the money badly without considering the health of her customers. One
day, Mira was apprehended by the NBI, Narcotics and SOCO officers for selling counterfeit products.

This situation tells us about volunteerism on the part of Mira who at first aspires for extra income
to support her schooling by engaging in an online business which is not bad. But when she learned
about the company/s fraudulent and counterfeit products, she has the responsibility to leave the
company and report it to the authorities.
There are significant factors to consider in the exercise of freedom. These are Prudence and Self-
reflection.

• Prudence is the ability to govern and discipline oneself with the use of reason; it is having
caution and giving good judgments in making decisions. Making hard choices is an exercise
of freedom. But freedom should also be based on truthful knowledge and wise reasoning.
Hence, we should practice self-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). It is a deeper form of learning
where if practiced with higher sense of wise judgement and keen perception, the experiences
he makes are more meaningful and serve as guide for improved and informed decisions,
actions and choices.

INTERSUBJECTIVITY

 Refers to shared meanings constructed by people in their interactions with each other.
 It is the philosophical concept of the interaction between the “self” and the “other”. It is the mutual
recognition of each other as persons.
 It refers to the shared awareness, and understanding among persons. It is made possible by the
awareness of the self and the other.
Characteristics of Human Relationship
Empathy:
The ability to share emotions. This emotion is driven by a person’s awareness that the other is a person
with thoughts and feelings. Human persons are actively aware of the emotional states of other people,
and they use this information to determine their own actions and behavior.

Availability:
The willingness of a person to be present and be at the disposal of one another. You may have
encountered a situation where you need help or others need help and you become readily available for
one another.

Ethics of Care:
An ethical theory that emphasizes the moral dimensions of relationship and interactions.
 This moral perspective encourages individuals to help other people, most especially the
vulnerable.

I-Thou and I-IT Relationship

The I-it relationship is described as the subject-to-subject relationship. It can be understood as objects
like pencils, dresses, food or places. However, a relationship is impossible in the purview of I and It. In
the reality of I-it, there is no unity in each other’s being but only distance. Here, the subject focuses only
on the specifications of the things and isolated qualities like color, shape, beauty etc. Therefore the
focus is on utilization, manipulation and domination and never relation.

I-Thou relation is described as the subject-subject relationship. This kind of relationship is an

interpersonal relationship. It is a person-to-person relationship. Hence, the I-Thou relationship is not a
meeting wherein one keeps a distance from the other, but an encounter wherein realities are shared
and unified. For example, when your parents are engaged in a misunderstanding but still respect each
other as husband and wife, it depicts that both the I and the Thou are dialogically involving each other’s
whole being. It is an encounter of shared realities.

Accepting Differences

Helen Keller (1880-1968)

was an American author, political activist and the first deaf blind person to earn bachelor’s degree. She
lost her hearing and sight when she was an infant due to an illness. Growing up, she developed a
system of signs to communicate with her family. When Helen was seven years old, she met Anne
Sullivan, a teacher who was herself visually-impaired. Despite being blind and deaf, Helen learned to
“hear” people’s speech by feeling their lips with her hands.

Nicholas James “Nick” Vujicic (born 1982)

An Australian evangelist and motivational speaker who was born with phocomelia, a condition in which
a person is born with no arms and legs. Because of his condition he was bullied as he grew up, but it
did not stop him from pursuing his dreams. In 2005, he founded Life Without Limbs, a non-profit
organization and ministry.

Roselle Ambubuyog (born 1980)

Is the first visually-impaired Filipino to graduate summa cum laude from Ateneo de Manila University in
2001. Roselle lost her eyesight at the age of six due to an illness. Despite her handicap, she was a
consistent academic honoree in her school, graduating valedictorian in both elementary and high
school. Her excellence performance in school enabled her to participate in regular classes with sighted
students. Roselle is also a motivational speaker and has given several talks and seminars to students,
teachers and professionals.

THE HUMAN PERSON IN SOCIETY

Relationships that we experienced in our lives depend on the level of our experience. For
example, when we were yet a child, we always depended on our family. As we grow older, we start to
go with people in the community, from there; we began to relate ourselves with our opposite sex. In our
doing such, we exercise our freedom to do what we want to do. We are capable of establishing society
by way of our different relationships with other people such as friendships, alliances or associates
sharing common interests and territory.
Our relationships with other people caused us to survive. We survive because of our parents,
our friends, our neighbours, our schoolmates and, workmates. The education we have starts from our
home. Our parents taught us everything - from talking, reading and writing, values, good manners and
right conduct; simple household chores. This education will continue when we go to school. When we
finish our education, we are already equipped with abilities, skills and knowledge for us to become
productive members of the society. Therefore, society helps us grow as a better person.
 TYPES OF SOCIETIES CHARACTERISTICS
This form of society is recognized as the earliest
and the simplest; basically small and composed
mostly of families. They are nomadic, meaning,
HUNTING AND GATHERING they kept on transferring from one place to
SOCIETY another to look for food, thus, they do not have
permanent houses. Men are tasked to hunt large
animals while women are tasked in the collection
of vegetables and other crops.
This form of society is characterized by the
raising (alaga) of animals to supply their food
especially in the regions of the world where
PASTORAL SOCIETY vegetable growing is not possible. They also
engage in buying and selling of goods with other
groups.
This form of society engages in the growing of
plants, fruits and vegetables. In this society,
there is enough food supply. Some members of
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY the society also engage in making crafts and
buying and selling of goods.
This form of society grows rice and other crops.
They also began to farm and raise animals for
food. They lived permanently and improved the
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY technology for farming. Money became a form of
exchange for goods and services.
It is a form of society in which the ruler or lord
owned all the land while the farmers or laborers
FEUDAL SOCIETY
farmed it.
This society used machineries in the production
of goods and services. Through innovations and
technological advances, daily activities become
INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY easier and the lives of the people become better.

Also known as the virtual (computer) society,

people use technology and the Internet to
communicate, to engage in business and access
POST-INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY different information that can be if used to deal
with daily activities.

As members of the society, we learn, we interact, we exercise our freedom and we follow common
beliefs, traditions and norms or standards.
 Norms are set of traits and behaviours that society considers good and acceptable. The society
expects us to behave the way it is used to. When we do not obey to the established norms, then we
experience punishments for not doing so. Moreover, laws are made to provide us proper guidelines to
sustain peace and order. Violation of the law means punishment. On the other hand, folkways are
traditional in nature and do not result in punishment if not followed.
The person and society are inseparable. One cannot exist without the other. It is a two-way
relationship that binds both the person and the society for growth and development. We have our own
individual assigned social roles in the society.
Social roles are set of connected behaviours expected to a certain person. Individuals with
common or similar roles are grouped together to form social groups and eventually the different social
groups would become social institutions that include our family, school, government among others.
THE HUMAN PERSONS AS ORIENTED TOWARDS THEIR IMPENDING DEATH
Nothing lasts forever (walang forever). The cycle of being born, growing up and growing old and dying
is a reality. We have limited time here on earth and whether we like it or not, we are bound to die. Death
is real. It is a part of our being. Death is commonly understood as the end of bodily functions. It also
refers to the separation of body and spirit. Everything that exists in this universe comes to an end and
we humans are not exempted. The acceptance of being a temporary individual in this world gives us a
clearer vision on how to live life to the fullest and understand the meaning of our existence. We have
the freedom to choose a well-lived life; doing good and doing what is right.
What makes us happy? Happiness is a state of being (over all physical condition of a person),
not just only an emotion or a decision. We do not choose happiness because we feel it, we do not
choose happiness because we need it but happiness is the totality of who we are as human beings.
As an embodied spirit, we must consider also the goods or sources of our happiness.
Kinds of Good
1. Noble good is one which is pursued for its own sake, example is love and friendship.

2. Useful good is found only from what it can provide, example, money is good as it can buy you
something.

3. Pleasurable good is good so long as it provides some form of pleasure, though it does not have
to be physical.

Whatever the source of our happiness right now, let us see to it that it is real and
meaningful.
What is Suffering?
Suffering is generally viewed as a state of feeling discomfort or pain. It can come in the form of physical
suffering when one experiences bodily pain, example, injury or it may be a mental suffering when it
involves our minds and emotions, such as depression or loneliness. Humans as we are, we normally
experience pain and we often view it as necessary to help as grow and become a strong person and
find the deepest meaning of our lives.
In life, we experience both happiness and suffering. Whatever experiences we have, let us make
it sure that it helps us lived the life worth remembering; that we could be a better version of ourselves.
Life is a gift, live it.