Freedom Flashcards
” I am free, no matter what rules sorround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.”
- Robert A. Henlein
Freedom is never given; it is won.
A. Philip Randolph
The really important kind of freedom involves attention, and awareness, and discipline, and effort, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them, over and over, in myriad petty little unsexy ways, every day.
- David Foster Wallace
True freedom is not advanced in the permissive society, which confuses freedom with license to do anything whatever and which in the name of freedom proclaims a kind of general amorality. It is a caricature of freedom to claim that people are free to organize their lives with no reference to moral values, and to say that society does not have to ensure the protection and advancement of ethical values. Such an attitude is destructive of freedom and peace.
Pope John Paul II
It is a social and political concept which has great significance in how people participate in society.
Freedom or Liberty
The concept of freedom emerged in….during the Age of Enlightenment.
18th-century Europe
During this period, intellectuals pondered on the origins of society and the state of the nature of human freedom.
18th-century Europe
Enlightenment Thinkers
Believed that early man existed in a “…..” and had absolute freedom.
natural state
In establishing society, people entered into a
Social contract
The freedom of an individual from oppression, compulsion, or coercion from other person’s in authority figure, or from society itself.
Freedom in a Political and Social Context
Two types of Liberties:
Positive and negative liberty
Refers to a person taking control of his or her own life and fulfilling one’s potential.
POSITIVE LIBERTY
The freedom from external restraint, barriers, and other interferences from other people
Negative liberty
Define freedom as freedom from sin and living life of righteousness
Theological views
POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES WERE INFLUENCED BY VARIED IDEAS ON HUMAN LIBERTY:
Liberalism
Libertarianism
Socialism
innate in the person such as the right to life
NATURAL RIGHTS
society’s customs and laws
LEGAL RIGHTS
Natural Rights
*They are what make us human beings and what define our purpose in life.
*They belong to every individual human being.
*They are unalienable
=They can’t belong to anyone else
John Locke
Is is the ability of people to control their own lives.
Human Agency
Freedom is expressed in two ways:
Free will
Free action
*the ability to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded
*Self-determined
Ex. People can make a free choice as to wether to commit a crime or not.
Free will
the freedom of performing an action without any obstacles and hindrances.
Ex. A woman owns a dog and does not want to walk the dog but knows the dog needs exercise. Even though she really does not want to walk the dog in the cold, she decides that the best decision is to walk the dog.
Free action
acts which are proper to man; voluntary actions; acts done with knowledge and consent; more of conscience involved.
Ex. Before jumping into the river, he judges his ability to swim and save the person who’s drowning
Human Acts
involuntary actions; naturally occurring in the human being such as functioning of the senses and actions that occur without the knowledge of the agent.
Ex. Sleepwalking
Acts of Man
emphasizes different views regarding the nature of free will and how it influences human action.
Perspective
- refers to free will as the use of our mental facilities.
- it assumes that we have free will due to our intellect because each human action is based on rationality and sound judgement.
Faculties model
- free will is based on human wants and desires
- an individual is faced with various wants and desires that need to be met
Hierarchical model
Believes that man has free will because he or she is able to entertain reasons not to enact a certain decision and act upon them when the need arises.
Reasons-responsive view
ACTIONS AND INTERVENTIONS THAT RESTRICTSl FREE WILL.
Internal Constraints
ACTIONS OR INTERVENTIONS THAT RESTRICT FREE ACTIONS.
External Constraints
- every event in the world is brought about by underlying causes or factors.
- how people deal with things that are outside of their control.
Ex. A young person may struggle with this or her family’s decision to move to a different place but he or she can make the choice either to adjust to the situation or to resist change.
Determinism
Believes that society imposes certain controls on people, and that person’s social group largely influences how he or she thinks or acts.
Marxist Philosophy
HOW CAN WE EFFECTIVELY EXECRCISE FREEDOM IN OUR LIFE?
The concept of moral responsibility
Moral responsibility
Christian Doctrine
Free will of moral agent
Control and regulation
An effective guide in the proper exercise of human freedom.
The concept of moral responsibility
Refers to a person’s status of deserving praise and reward, or blame and punishment for an action.
Moral responsibility
All good action will result in rewards like blessings and salvation; evil deeds merit punishment in world and afterlife.
Christian Doctrine
Necessary prerequesite or variable in discussing the problem or question of moral responsibility.
Free will of moral agent
Are necessary elements in the responsible exercise of freedom.
Control and regulation
Adopting the concept of “Social Contract”, it assumes that human freedom can be exercised under certain constraints or limits.
Social contract
