PHILO 4TH QUARTER
LESSON 1: FREEDOM OF THE HUMAN PERSON
> Freedom – requires a degree of control from the
person who exercises it
If there is a need to control, then are we really
free?
“I can do whatever I want. This is a free country.”
– I feel that I am free; I think that I am free
–$when we try to rationalize the thought, we begin
to wonder how irrational it is
– what evidences can you provide that you are
free?
– are we really free or are we just imagining that
we are?
– not a ticket to do everything we wish
–$if freedom is power, then it comes with great
responsibility
– includes the concept of love and devotion
– freedom now is equated to choosing alone (may
choices ka so malaya ka): ganito kalayaan natin
–$we forget that the original value of freedom is
rooted from love and devotion; we dismiss the
concept of love and devotion (has evolved because
of constant usage)
– freedom is understood as a kind of independence
to the will of others
–$a free person can do whatever he chooses as long
as he doesn’t break the law or infringe the freedom
or right????? of others
–$our concept of freedom has been devaluated
–$freedom is embedded in human nature
–$for us to operate freely, we have to know how the
concept operates?????
–$are our action free and anchored in love and
devotion?
–$some believe na nakatadhana mga bagay bagay
– you cannot believe in both perspectives: na you
are free and that fate yung gumawa ng mga bagay
bagay
> Circumstantial Freedom – “I am free, if and only if,
my circumstance allows me to be free.”
> Metaphysical Freedom – “I have the power to decide
what will happen to me in the future.”
Originating cause of a decision
Leads us to free actions????? In which we can be
held responsible
> Fatalism – philosophical doctrine emphasizing the
subjugation of all events/actions to fate/destiny
> Libertarianism –$view that defines a free act as one
that is exclusively controlled by the person’s will as long
as he/she respects the equal rights of others
> Determinism –$our actions are controlled by factors
such as biology, genes, the way we are brought up by
our families and society
Determinists believe that we are passive to our
existence and we have no free will
Does not give room for choices, everything is
predetermined
Can you blame me kung nakatadhana?
Hard-Determinism –$all things are determined by
purely external factors of which we have no
control
– “Whatever happened, happened and couldn’t
have happened in any other way.” – Morpheus
Soft-Determinism – actions and choices are
determined by our inclinations, attitudes, and
character
–$also called compatibilism
–$may fixed loss yung universe
– soft-determinists believe that free will influences
greatly our actions
–$actions become free if they come from
ourselves?????
–$if it’s a free choice, it results to a consequence
which is responsibility
– we have moral responsibility for the actions we
choose
> Freedom vs. Determinism
Are we really free?
John Locke: you do not know that the room is
locked from the outside, then are you really not to
go outside? He thinks he is free pero illusion lang?
his illusion to leave is not really a choice or an
option
When we try to reconcile freedom and
determinism, we encounter the idea of God and
how God affects our freedom
If everything is predetermined, is there someone
who determines?
> Divine Foreknowledge –$“God knows about every
little thing about you.”
God is all-knowing
God knows all your desires
God knows why and the effect of your choice
Knows every little thing about you
> Divine Providence –$nothing happens outside of the
Divine Will
God provides?????
God orders and controls all that occurs
> If God can see into the future, can see someone’s
action before they have been done, then are we really
free? Does God’s omniscience eliminate free will?
> How do we reconcile divine foreknowledge,
determinism, and the human freedom?
Pwede bang naniniwala ako sa Diyos pero
naniniwala akong malaya ako?
If you believe in God, then do you have the power
to be free?????
He just knows about our choices
We can still choose????? Binigyan niya tayo ng
choice
> Absolute Freedom and Responsibility
