Human freedom

Question 1

Definition

Answer 1

• It is the capacity of choosing the good
• The ability to choose between possible alternatives
• The capacity of every human being to move themselves towards that which they know (perceive) to be good, because they want to

Question 2

Types of freedom

Answer 2

1. Constitutive freedom
2. Freedom of choice
3. The freedom of action or moral freedom
4. Social freedom

Question 3

Constitutive freedom

Answer 3

• This is openness and responsiveness to reality.
• From this type of freedom arises freedom of conscience and freedom of speech.
• A person should be allowed to make choices which affect his/her constitution in one way or another.
• Eg when Kenyans were up against MPs send off package

Question 4

Freedom of choice

Answer 4

• When people refer to freedom, they in many cases, refer to this type of freedom.
• A person should be allowed to choose amongst alternatives; to act or not to act.
• There are some errors which arise when this choice is perceived wrongly.

Question 5

Errors of freedom as a choice

Answer 5

1. “Free to do what I like”. Experience shows that in practice this is not possible as doing so often results in undesirable consequences. Also other people have to be respected. Therefore our freedom should end where the right of others begin.
2. Stating that a person is predetermined to make a choice. Each person is free to decide his/her destiny. It is up to each individual to make full use of opportunities provided.
3. Sexual liberation results from not respecting the proper use of sexual powers. It makes man (and woman) a slave of the passions.

Question 6

Social freedom

Answer 6

• This means that a society provides means to enable a person be an active member of society.
• Social freedom means that the society provides mechanisms to ensure that people can live out their aspirations.
• A society without social freedom has a big proportion of its citizens in poverty, ignorance, political oppression and lack of rule of law.

Question 7

The freedom of action

Answer 7

• When freedom is exercised in the right way, for instance when a student habitually studies, one can say that freedom in this case is a virtue.
• The person acts in the right way according to right reason.
• For people to act freely and in the right way there is need to educate the person constantly.

Question 8

Usefulness of freedom

Answer 8

a) Each choice is a choice about us as persons. We choose the type of person we want to be
b) We can choose to develop and reach further maturity becoming better and more perfect human beings.
c) We can choose to find happiness, which is closely related to love of God. We love freely since love is exclusive to free people.
d) We can grow in different capacities, we can improve in different ways and in our freedom.
e) Man can open himself up to everything, both good and bad.
f) Many personal limitations can be overcome.
g )With continued practice of freedom and making good free choices, we become masters of ourselves, we can improve in self-discipline and are able to serve others

Question 9

Notion of absolute freedom

Answer 9

• Man’s freedom is not and cannot be absolute.
• Man is a created being and is therefore subject to a higher power. He has to choose what will lead him to God.
• The freedom also produces consequences in the social sphere; when he acts, his conduct has repercussions for himself and for the people around him.
• When man forgets that he is a created being, he becomes his own master and looses the sense of his moral obligations.
• Through freedom, man can choose what will lead him to the final goal, (Happiness), or he can make the wrong choice and face the consequences of not attaining the final goal.

Question 10

Love and freedom

Answer 10

• Love is a consequence of freedom.
• The freer a person is the more one can love, and the more one loves the more free one becomes.
• People who do not love or cannot love are people who have limited freedom. They cannot achieve true happiness

Question 11

Types pf love

Answer 11

1. Benevolent love: This is love for another person. Its manifestations are: conjugal love or married love; love for God; love of kinship; love of friendship and love of one’s country
2. Concupiscible love: It is love for oneself.

Question 12

The exercise of freedom

Answer 12

Responsibility
Obedience
Self control

Question 13

Impediments towards exercising our freedom

Answer 13

1. Lack of awareness or consent – it is necessary for an act to be free. The person who acts is aware of the act and moral implications.
2. Ignorance- it implies lack of knowledge in the person who ought to have it i.e. something obligatory to know. Needs diligence to overcome
3. The influence of passions- desires, feelings and emotions
4. Violence- affects the acts that are commanded by the will. The violence is caused by another person as no one can cause violence to himself. Violence destroys freedom and makes the act become involuntary, free of moral responsibility.
5. Fear- is caused by the threat of an imminent danger that is difficult to avoid. Fear in extreme cases can be completely blinding of the intellect and will.
6. Mental illness- impedes the use of reason or the self-control of the will, totally or partially.

Question 14

The state and individual freedom

Answer 14

• The terrible temptation of government officials is to think they can solve a particular problem if only they had enough money and the power to do whatever they deem best without having to answer to the people.
• That’s why no person ought to wield total authority and judgment over everyone.
• Absolute freedom belongs to the jungle.