Module 3

MAN AS LIBERTY (FREEDOM)

Rodelyn Natividad
Jose Pamocol
Nathalia Valentine Guliman

2 EXTREME POSITIONS ON
FREEDOM

ABSOLUTE
DETERMINISM
ABSOLUTE FREEDOM

ABSOLUTE DETERMINISM
B.F. SKINNER holds that man is absolutely
determined.
1. Mans behavior is shaped and determined
(caused) by external forces and stimuli.
i. genetic: biological and physical
structures
ii. Environment: culture, national or
ecclesiastical
iii. External forces and demands

Freudian Psychoanalysis
Viewed

that every event has as

cause and that everything in the
universe is absolute dependent
on and governed by casual laws.

3 Basic Positions Concerning

man's choice

Determinism
Indeterminism
Self-Determinism

Absolute Freedom
Persons are responsible only for those
actions that they have the option either to
do or not to do or to will or not to will. If all
facts, including acts of will, are determined,
then this option does not appear to exist.
The theory that human beings have
freedom of choice or self-determination;
that is, that given a situation, a person
could have done other than what he did.

Think about this:

SARTRE on ABSOLUTE FREEDOM

MAN CANNOT BE FREE IN

SOME THINGS ONLY AND NOT
FREE IN OTHERS; HE IS
ABSOLUTELY FREE OR NOT AT
ALL. There is no middle
position: Man is absolutely
free.

Objections 1:
How can I say I am absolutely free when I am
not free to be born in such and such a
place, of parents so & so, on such and such
a day?
Answer: You can always live as if you were
born in such and such a place, of parents,
on such and such a day.

Objection 2
How can you say I am absolutely free when I
cannot climb a big rock or pass through it?
So I am limited.
Answer: The rock is an obstacle to your
freedom only because you freely want to
climb or pass through it.
For Sartre: freedom is a negation, a
negating power of consciousness.

MERLEAU-PONTY: SITUATED
FREEDOM
Sartre speaks of absolute freedom.
According to Merleau-Ponty, such kind of
freedom, it is difficult to speak of choice,
because choice implies value, and seeing
values is impossible from the standpoint of
a freedom which transcends all situations.
For him, our freedom is situated freedom.

MARCEL: FREEDOM AND THE

PERSON
Gabriel Marcel understand freedom in
relation to the person.
Freedom belongs to the realm of being,
because freedom is not distinct from us, not
a possession. Freedom is a mystery, not a
problem.
I am free to become fully a person.

2 Kinds of Freedom
Freedom of choice- our ability to choose good
The choice implies preference of values.
Fundamental Option it is our general
direction or orientation in life.
This is called Vertical Freedom: Values form
hierarchy (For Max Scheler, preferring and
realizing higher values is love, and
preferring and realizing lower values is
hatred or egoism.

In the ultimate analysis:

There are only 2 fundamental options: love and
egoism.
It is love which makes me a person, which makes
me truly free.
Freedom of choice and fundamental option are
interrelated: our choices shape our
fundamental option, and fundamental option is
exercised and concretized in our particular
choices.

Freedom and
Responsibility
Responsibility is the other side of freedom.
2 Meanings of Responsibility
1. Accountability: I am accountable for an
action that is free, whose source is the I
2. Response ability: the ability to give an
account, the ability to justify my actions as
truly responsive to the objective demands
of the situation.

Response:
That meets the demand of justice.

A responsible action then from a

response-able person requires
putting the Other in the
forefront in place of myself: I am
free from internal constraints,
like egoism and whims.

Greater freedom then,

Is not just being able to do
what I want to do but being
able to do and wanting to do
what the situation objectively
(versus subjectively) obliged
me to do.

FREEDOM AND JUSTICE

Justice: is giving to the other what is due.
If the human being is to keep his freedom, he
must assess his real needs with respect to
what is available around his world and the
equally real needs of his fellowman.
Absolute love for finite goods leads to
corruption.

Justice requires:
an objective order of values, like a balancing
measurement, a Libra.
What is due to the other is all that he needs
to preserve and enhance his dignity as a
human being.
His dignity includes his being and becoming
free.

Freedom conditions justice; justice is a

condition of freedom.
Freedom conditions justice: because giving
what is due to the other means allowing
him to use his talents to fulfill his humanity,
giving him freedom. So, to violate the
freedom of the other is to deny him justice.

Justice is a condition of freedom: because I

can only use my freedom for the promotion
of justice, of what is due to human being. In
the exercise of my freedom, I must observe
justice so that the resources of fellow
human beings and the world of nature are
not exhausted and totally lost, otherwise
there will be no more goods to choose from.

Meaning of Justice
Justice denotes placing things in their
rightful place.
It also means giving others equal treatment.
Justice is a moral virtue and an attribute of
human personality.
It creates a state of equilibrium in the
distribution of rights and duties.

Society: must be a balance of

freedom and justice.
This means that there must be structural
order in society such that higher values are
not subordinated to lower values.
The social structure must be such that
exchange of economic goods and
distribution of political power is geared
towards enhancement of the human being.

Four Types of Justice

Distributive Justice- also known as economic
justice, is about fairness in what people
receive, from goods to attention. Its roots
are in social order and it is at the roots of
socialism, where equality is a fundamental
principle
Procedural Justice- the principle of fairness
is also found in the idea of fair play (as
opposed to the fair share of distributive
justice)

Restorative Justice- the first thing that the

betrayed person may seek from the
betrayer is some form of restitution, putting
things back as they should be.
Retributive Justice- works on the principle of
punishment, although what constitutes fair
and proportional punishment is widely
debated.

The practical norm to follow for that ideal is

to each according to his needs (Acts 2:45)
from each according to his means (Acts
11:29)
In cases of conflict between freedom and
justice, the use of violence must be
avoided. Instead, structures of deliberation
are needed. People must be able to
participate in dialogue to settle their
differences.

Output for Module 3

FREEDOM finds its fulfillment in Justice and
Love. If this is so, how is this realized in our
day to day existence?
2. Cite concrete examples:
a. Personal
b. Local
c. Global
3. What is the implications of this topic in your
life as future educators? Explain your
answer.
1.

Limit your answer by observing the following

criteria:
- No. of pp: Maximum of 3 (SBP)
- 1.5 space
- font size: 12
- font face: Courier New