Freedom of the Human

Person
Competencies
1. Evaluate and exercise prudence in choices
2. Realize that:
a. Choices have consequences.
b. Some things are given up while others are
obtained in making choices
3. Show situations that demonstrate freedom of
choice and the consequences of their choices
Pretest

1. Freedom refers to the ability to make choices and

perform actions. It is an intrinsic and essential
property of the human person.
2. Physical freedom is a type of
freedom from physical restraint.
3. Responsibility means that a person is
being accountable for his or her actions
and their consequences.
4. It is a responsible use of freedom if a
person still posted a photo of his or her
classmate on social media even if he or
she knows that his or her classmate
would be humiliated by it.
5. It shows prudence if you choose not to
study for your exam the next day because
you choose to attend the debut party of
your best friend today.
In relation to Freedom, what do you think does a
bird inside a cage mean?
What do you think is the difference if the bird is in
the cage and it is outside the cage?
Definition of Freedom
What is Freedom?
Freedom is the ability to make choices and perform those
choices.
It is the ability to be what we want and to decide and
create oneself.
Form a group of 5 members

1. What do you think makes us free?

2. How do we know that we are free?
3. Do you use your freedom
responsibly?
 There are two concepts
that will help us fully
understand freedom.

1. Freedom Itself-
It is the quality or state of being free. It is
our capacity to choose. It is an intrinsic
and an essential property of a human
person. It is part of our human nature
2. Free Will-
Our free will allows us to decide on things.
It is our ability to choose. It is our ability
to choose things according to our moral
reasoning.
Example

 Thinkof yourself as a student, your teacher told you to

study your lessons for the day for you will have a long
quiz the next meeting. However, as you reached home
you find yourself having a good time doing Facebook
and online chatting with your friends. Using your
freedom, you can either choose to follow your teacher’s
advice to study your lessons for your quiz the next
morning or continue doing the thing which you find
enjoyable.
 Tosum it all, our freedom then could trace down in a person’s
exercise of his rationality/intellect and free will. Simply that
individual actions as it is freely chosen by an individual it
then defines who and what kind of person one is. We all are
free to choose, to be good person and act on it accordingly or
be a bad person and act in a bad way. As our actions and
choices reflects us doing what is good and acting on it is what
makes you a good person while on the other hand doing the
negative will also give a negative impression to an individual.
This has been tackled on the previous lesson that self-
determination or the ability to choose on what is right and
wrong, that a person’s action determines what kind of person
he or she becomes.
Freedom
 Freedom is an intrinsic and essential property of the
person.
 Freedomis rooted in the human person’s self-
determination and the exercise of intellect and free
will.
Kinds of Freedom

Physical Freedom
Psychological Freedom
Moral Freedom
Physical Freedom
 Physicalfreedom refers to the absence of any
physical restraint. The person has the freedom of
mobility to go where or she wants to go. He she is
not impeded in his or her actions by any physical
force. Granted that the person has natural
limitations, physical freedom allows him or her to act
and move in a determined manner. You cannot be
everywhere at once, but your freedom allows you to
move from one place to another and to go wherever
you want to go.
 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 a
person. No outside force or influence can
compel to take action against his or her will.
 Moral Freedom
 Moral freedom refers to using freedom in a manner that
upholds human dignity and goodness. Freedom is not 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 more free when he or she uses freedom well,
but becomes less free when he or she uses it in a bad way.
Humans have a natural inclination for what is true and good,
and when a person uses his or her freedom to do acts that
violate human dignity and goodness, he or she dehumanizes
himself or herself and effectively negates human freedom.
 There are 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 decisions 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 action 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 responsible for it.
 Example of voluntariness and responsibility
There are important 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.
Because once we made a decision there is no turning back, there
is no rewind, so we should always reflect first on the possible
outcomes of the choices that we are going to make. Self-
reflection is very important in exercising freedom.
 Self-reflection allows us to be more rational in making choices,
because sometimes human beings tend to be slaves by their
emotions and moods whenever they act certain things. As free
beings, exercising our freedom responsibly is very important.
 Thus, it requires us to reflect on the actions that we are going to
make by considering its possible effects and the benefits it has to the
people affected by it. Michael invited Ken to a party club. At the
club, Ken was very surprised to see his former classmates and some
acquaintances. It was very lively, people were dancing, singing and
others were drinking and smoking. But, there is something that
caught Ken’s attention, a group of people in the corner doing
something unusual. And to his surprise, Michael was one of them. He
came near to them and Michael immediately offer him a
methamphetamine (shabu). At first, he refused knowing that the use
of it is illegal. However, with the persistent effort of Michael, Ken tried
it. Unexpectedly, police officers came to raid the club. Ken was
abducted. Based on this situation, voluntariness was manifested by
Ken’s personal acceptance of the illegal drug because he uses his
own freewill. Responsibility comes with Ken’s choice of action.
Meaning, he had to accept his fate to be in the prison cell as a
Activity 2:
My Personal Timeline.
In one whole sheet of pad paper, write
your timeline.
 Asa student, you have made some important life decisions in
the past.
Make a time-line of major decisions in your life and below the
line then write down the consequence of those particular
decisions.
 Activity3: Reflect
Write your reflection in your one(1)whole sheet
of pad paper
1. Recall a situation in your life that in where you apply
prudence in making a choice. How does this decision
create an impact your Life?
Exercising Freedom in a Responsible and
Beneficial Manner
 Questions for Discussions

1. Whatdo you think is the message the picture below is

trying to convey?
2. Howdo you think does the picture relates to the
previous lesson?
 Freedom should be exercised with
control and reasonable limits.
As humans, we enjoy freedom, but we need to understand that it
is not absolute. Meaning, we should exercise our freedom with
control and reasonable limits.
Examples:
1. A student may be first in line in a grocery store but chooses to
give way to an elderly woman next to her.
Freedom should be exercised with
control and reasonable limits.
2. You may be very upset to a friend for losing a thing she
borrowed but refuses to confront her because you already know
that she already feels bad of herself for the thing she had done.
3. You may be very angry with your teacher for scolding you in
front of the entire class, but you refrained from answering back at
him/her since it will be considered as disrespectful act.
Freedom should be exercised with
control and reasonable limits.

Giving limits to our personal freedom simply

means sacrificing certain self-interest and accept
that there are things beyond our control. Our
ability to think and know what is right and what is
wrong serves as guide in recognizing and deciding
the limitations of our freedom.
Freedom should be exercised with
regard for knowledge and truth.
As a rational beings, it is natural for us to think before
we act. We use our freedom to acquire knowledge,
which in turn are useful in making right and sound
decisions essential in dealing with our life situations.

Example: To correctly answer a multiple-choice item

in an examination, a student has to study his/her
lessons. Otherwise, he/she cannot answer the test.
Freedom should be exercised with
regard for knowledge and truth.
We should also be equipped with the ability to
acquire information and truthful knowledge
because it will aid us in making wise and
informed choices.
Example: In casting our votes during SSG
election, we will not vote to a candidate because
of she/he is attractive or appealing but because
she/he is knowledgeable on the important school
issues.
 Freedom should be exercised to
uphold the freedom of others.
Freedom is recognized and guaranteed right for all persons.
Meaning, freedom should be enjoyed by all. But it is
important to remember that freedom should be exercised not
as a tool to restrict the freedom of others, but as a means to
enable others to fully enjoy their own freedom.
Example: A teacher doing his/her class discussion under the
Narra tree instead of having it inside the classroom.
You shared your hard-earned money to cater the needs of
your friend who is in dire needs of it for the realization of
his/her school project.
Reflect in yourself the given actions below
and give possible consequences on the
given actions.
Action Consequences

A student studying his/her lessons

A driver observing traffic lights

Athletes practicing in a gym

A person taking illegal drugs

A student practicing conservation of natural

resources
 Reflection: Write your answer in your
one whole sheet of a pad paper.
1. Reflect on your past experiences and identify a moment when
you believed you had “no choice” regarding your action or
decisions, or you made a choice that you eventually regretted.
Reevaluate the situation and how important is it to apply
prudence in making a choice.
2. Reflect on a problem you are currently facing. Create a
graphic organizer outlining the possible choices you
can make and their corresponding consequences.
 Corresponding
Possible consequences
Choice #1

Possible
Choice#2 Corresponding
consequences

Possible
Corresponding
Choice#2
consequences
References

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaLuMbqrIL8