LESSON 1: FREEDOM
AND RESPONSIBILITY
Freedom
- Will, power, right to act, express ourselves.
- Freedom of speech, vote, socialize, choose religion, love someone,
to act
- Human capacity to act (or not to act). As we choose to prefer
without any external compulsion or restraint.
- Intrinsic and essential property of person
- Important indication of human freedom is ability to make choices
and perform actions
- Our freedom to act sets up apart from other beings
Animals
- respond to command
- trained and conditioned to perform
- Act instinctively (actions are preditermined response to certain
stimuli)
Human Persons
- can choose the course of action to take when given a stimulus or
faced with certain situation.
- eg. task of cleaning your room
Freedom
- one of the most abused and misunderstood words during these
times.
- well-loved concept which ancestors fought for, yet poorly
understood by the present generation.
- There is always something in being free.
- People associate freedom with one's ability to do whatever he or she
wants to do.
- limitations and responsibility
- consequences
The Nature of Human Freedom
(Existentialism)
Freedom
- aspects of intellectual, political, spiritual, and economic.
- be free is a part of humanity's authenticity.
- understanding freedom is part of transcendence.
- It consists of going beyond situations such as physical or economic.
- The imperative quality of judgment of practical intellect is
meaningless,
Aristotle- The Power of Volition
- apart from will.
- volition - will and power to choose
- Volition in this sence is the faculty or power to use or discharge
one's will
- Reason can legislate, but only through will can its legislation be
translated into action.
- Will is to be understood wholly in terms of intellect for there is no
intellect if there is no will
- The will of humanity is an instrument of free choice.
- It is within the power of everyone to be good or bad or worthy or
worthless
- The happiness of every human being is in his own hands to preserve
and develop or to cast away
- Will is borne out by:
⚫ inner awareness of an aptitude to do right or wrong.
⚫the common testimony of all human beings. the rewards and
punishment of rulers; and
⚫ the general employment of praise and blame.
St. Thomas of Aquinas: Love is Freedom
- human being as a moral agent, being both a spiritual and body
element, the spiritual and material.
- Our spirituality separates us from animals; it delineates moral
dimension of our fulfillment in an action.
- Through our, spirituality, we have a conscience. Whether we
choose to be "good" or "evil" becomes our responsibility.
- St. Thomas gives a fourfold classification of law: the eternal law,
natural law, human law, and divine law.
- Natural Law applies only to human beings; good is to be sought
after and evil avoided (instruct of self-preservation).
- Human laws are concerned with ends determined simply by
humanity's nature.
- Divine Law deals with interior disposition as well as external acts
and it ensures the final punishment of all evil doing.
- Eternal Law the decree of God that governs all creation.
Jean Paul Sartre: Individual Freedom
- desire to be God
- the desire to exist as a being which has its sufficient ground in
itself (en sui causa).
- The human person builds the road to the destiny of his/her
choosing; he/she is the creator (Srathern 1998).
- human being is solely responsible for their actions because we
choose who we are.
- Existentialism is a philosophical movement known for the inquiry
on human existence, which means "to exist"
- Choices
Principle of Sartre's Existentialism
• The person, first, exists, encounters himself and surges up in the
world then defines himself afterward.
• Emphasizes the importance of free individual choice, regardless
of the power of other people to influence and coerce our desires,
beliefs, and decisions. To be human, to be conscious is to be free
to imagine.
Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau John Locke: Theory of
Social Contract
Kinds of freedom
1. physical freedom - mobility, freedom to vote.
2. psychological freedom - freedom of choice, freedom to speak
and goodness.
3. moral Freedom - upholds human dignity.
- Rousseau interpreted the idea of social contract in terms of
absolute democracy and individualism.
- Rousseau and Hobbes believe that human beings must form a
community or civil community to protect themselves from one
another, because the nature of human beings is to wage war
against one another, and since by nature, humanity tends toward
self-preservation, then it follows that they must come to a free
mutual agreement to protect themselves.
- Rousseau believes that a human being is born free and good. But
human has become bad due to the evil influence of society,
civilization, learning, and progress. human being lost his original
goodness, his primitive tranquility of spirit.
Human acts vs Act of man
human act
• proper to human beings; thus the crucial element of willfull
consent and knowledge of the action must be present.
• One must freely use his/her intellect and free will when acting
• Reveal the value of responsibility or accountability, Man or
woman takes into responsibility of these actions. They are done
freely, deliberately and voluntarily
• examples: studying, working, eating healthy food.
→ essential qualities / constituent elements of human acts
1. Knowledge of the act
2. Freedom
3. Voluntariness
act of man
• act shared in common by man and other animals. Acts that we
do without free will and intellect.
• actions are performed without conscious deliberation or
knowledge and with the absence of a free will. act of than
constitute unconscious and involuntary actions.
• ex. breathing, digestion, circulation of air in the body, the beating
of the heart, growing
MORAL DILEMMA
• Acts of man are instinctive such as physiological in nature. These
are actions done under the circumstances of
- Ignorance
- passion
- fear
- violence
- habits
1. Unaware
2. involuntary
3. restraint/ compulsion.
ARISTOTLE DISTINCTION OF
VOLUNTARY AND INVOLUNTARY
ACTIONS.
1. Voluntary actions - acts originating from individual performing act
using knowledge about the situations of the act.
DILEMMA
- person is forced to choose between two or more conflicting
options, neither of which is acceptable
- when dilemmas involve human actions which have moral
implications, they are called ethical or moral dilemmas
- moral dilemmas are situations where persons, who are called
"moral agents" in ethics, are forced to choose between two or
more conflicting options, neither of which resolves the situation in
a morally acceptable manner.
THREE CONDITIONS THAT MUST BE PRESENT IN MORAL
DILEMMAS
1. THE PERSON OR THE AGENT OF THE MORAL ACTION IS
OBLIGED TO MAKE A DECISION ABOUT WHICH COURSE OF
ACTION IS BEST
2. THERE MUST BE DIFFERENT COURSES OF ACTION TO
CHOOSE FROM
3. NO MATTER WHAT COURSE OF ACTION IS TAKEN, SOME
MORAL PRINCIPLES ARE ALWAYS COMPROMISED
CHOICES: CONSEQUENCES AND
SACRIFICES
We must take into consideraion the necessary sacrifices that we
must take for us to grow
1. Classifications of Voluntary Actions
There are times that when we decide, we take risks, may it be a
A. Voluntary-actions performed from will and reason.
sacrifice or consequence, and the tendency of humans to take
B. Related to Compulsion - mixed of voluntary and involuntary. It is such daunting taks comes from his experiences and values
more voluntary if the desire and choice has been performed and
involuntary if it has considered preferences or alternatives. Example: In totality, the situation and progress of a person in a situation
You are asked to perform a crime and your options are; either you do falls on the result, that is our goal depends solely the weighted
it and your family survives or you don't do it but they will be
consequences we must bear and the sacrifices we must endure.
murdered.
2. Involuntary actions - acts done under
a) force or coercion and
b). ignorance where the doer failed to understand the effect and feels
sorry on the result.
EVALUATE AND EXERCISE
PRUDENCE IN CHOICE
Classifications of Involuntary Actions
When we are exercising our choice, we must always be cautious
and aware of the choices that we make, as well as the implications
of these in the future.
A. Under Compulsion - circumstances which are beyond the control
of the agent and contributes none to the action. Example: A person
was kidnapped, hence impossible to resist.
The capacity of an individual to make good choices come from
his/her experiences and values.
B. Through Ignorance of Particular Circumstances. Example: a man
steals and ignorant of the law, arrow or gun shot by mistake.
Always remember that when we make choices, we make choices
not for ourselves but also for the things that will affect that choice.
Intellectual choice vs Practical
choice
Intellectual Choice
- deliberately selected based on a moral standpoint.
- normative answers about what we ought to do from a moral system
that we uphold and its moral principles.
- These normative answers would take into consideration the
behavior which the society will accept.
- (Ex: in the examination, we say no to abortion)
Practical Choice
- borne out of psychological and emotional considerations.
- made when confronted with the actual situation, and usually
affected by psychological aspect of the person embroiled in the moral
situation or dilemma.
- For instance, psychological and emotional stress and lack of time to
deliberate during an actual moral situation may affect a person's
moral decision in that situation. A person may be so engulfed by
emotions that he may sometimes fail to make the right choice.
Likewise, stress could make a person's practical choice inconsistent
with his intellectual choice.
- but in real life, if the situation calls for it, abortion might be taken
into consideration
LESSON 2:
INTERSUBJECTIVITY
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
Luke 10:25-37 (New International
Version)
The Parable of the Good Samaritan explains the phenomenon of
intersubjectivity in the human world Though it focuses on the
Kingdom of God, it still validates the importance of intersubjective
relations of man.
INTERSUBJECTIVITY
- a coined word from prefix "inter" which connotes "among and
between" and philosophical term "subject" that is equivalent to a
conscious being.
- Thus, it mean general sense as "sharing of subjective states by two
or more individuals." (Scheff 2006).
- organic union of subjective reality and objective reality of beings.
Meaning to say, as a person, we have a personal regard to self but we
cannot deny the fact (objective-fact of reality we all share) that we live
with others so we also regard them as part of ourselves. We tend to
place ourselves in others' shoes and relate to them in good ways as
possible
What Philosophers Say About
Intersubjectivity
- Intersubjectivity is universal.
- It exists when and where humans exist.
- undeniable reality which thinkers could not help but discuss.
1. Confucius (551-479 B.C.E.)
- one of his main ideas is Ren or "human-heartedness." It is a virtue
central to man that can be found in his sociality or intersubjectivity.
- Confucius stresses order and harmony in the world. His aims can be
achieved through practical, concrete, particular, and perceptual ways.
- This means Confucian thinking on intersubjectivity is practical
humanism. There is an emphasis on human actions sociality.
- He calls every man to love the other through actions, not through
thoughts.
2. Martin Buber (1878-1965)
- a Jewish philosopher introduced the "I-Thou and I-It" relationships
to embody his philosophy of intersubjectivity.
- we have to treat another person as a subject (a being diferent from
things or objects).
- Persons are not inanimate objects to be used.
- They have their own mind and free will, thus, we have to respect
others as we respect ourselves.
- "I" refers to the self and "Thou" or "You" refers to others.
- This "I-Thou" relationship is the most meaning relationship in the
realm of humanity.
- The "I" is the same with the "Thou" and there should be mutual
relationship between them.
- We can only recognize the self in the context of the other. This is a
"person-to-person" relationship, "subject-subject" relation. We need
to accept, respect, be sincere, and have dialogue with the other
3. Karol Wojtyla (1930-2005)
- St. John Paul ll
- Wojtyla, human action is the foundation of our being.
- But human reality is also about being with others, so our actions are
also directed towards others.
- This form of action is "Participation." In the theory of participation,
man has the capacity to share himself to others. This affirms the
reality that man acts and exists with others.
- He is a member of the community of persons, a community of "lYou" or "We." Since man is a member of this community, his
experience with others gives him meaning and allows him to create
meaning with others.
LESSON 2.1
INTERSUBJECTIVE HUMAN
RELATIONS
- human person cannot and will not live alone.
- He needs his fellow being in order to live.
- In the world where he lives, need to interact with fellow beings in
order for him to survive.
- human person relates and engages to other people in the spirit of
dialogue.
- He talks while listening and hears with understanding.
- A harmonious relationship among fellow human beings is
important.
- The human person maintains a good relationship with his family,
friends, schoolmates and people in the community.
INTERSUBJECTIVITY
- term originally coined by the philosopher EDMUND HUSSERL
(1859-1938)
- interchange of thoughts and feelings.
- Both conscious and unconscious, between two persons or
"subjects" as facilitated by empathy.
- presupposes human being's connectivity with other human
beings.
- we share the same situations wherein we can create shared
meanings.
MARTIN BUBER-I THOU RELATIONSHIP
• MARTIN BUBER, jewish philosopher had great interest in study
of relating ourselves to others
• "I" or yourself can only be realized through recognition of
"OTHERS"
• "I" cannot be aware of its uniqueness and existence without
encountering the "OTHER"
• This summons each self-consciousness to treat one another not
as an object but a subject, as THOU and not as IT.
• Once a human being treats the others as an object, self
consciousness ceases to unveil and realize itself
SEVERAL WAYS BY WHICH WE RELATE TO OTHERS
(ACCORDING TO BUBER)
• The "I-I" Relationship in which people make themselves the
center of their world
• Talking to other people do not interest them and if they talk to
others, it is the "I" who will be the center of conversation.
• They don't really listen to what others are sharing
• The "I-It" Relationship the second type of relationship
• There are people that treat the other people into the status of an
object-an
Examples: Researchers who have indigenous people as their
participants, they are very prone to reducing the other into mere It
ie. As mere objects of investigation. In the medical field when
practitioners look at their patients as objects of investigation
• There are also "I-It" relations where the clearly has bad intent on
the other, treating the other as mere It or object.
Examples:
1. How oppressive employers treat their workers like machines or
robots who are immune to physical, verbal, psychological and
emotional abuse.
2. Any relationship which has one party reducing the other to a
status of an object
a. bully who treats a person with disability as an object of his
amusement.
b. A liquor company using body of women as their advertisement
to improve sales
c. Partners or friends treating each other as objects and means to
satisfy their selfinterest and desires in so called "friends with benefits" type of
relationships.
I-IT RELATIONSHIP
• This kind of relationship results in ALIENATION
• happens when human relationships are inauthentic, deceptive
and exploitative.
•arises when a person ceases to view the other as a distinct or
authentic person and merely considers the other person as a mere
object or a means to satisfy personal interests.
• ALIENATION is a disorienting sense of exclusion and separation
and if left unaddressed, will discount the humanity and dignity of a
person that leads to dehumanization
I-THOU RELATIONSHIP
• relations that genuine sharing of one another takes place
• relationship that the other is treated as distinctly other.
• The treats the person as a "thou" (You) as another person who is
different from the I; one has a different set of interests, visions,
beliefs, values and characteristics
• The center of this relationship is genuine from the conversation:
a dialogue
• I-THOU relationship for Buber is experience of being through
conversation in communion with the other; and here, the other
may not necessarily be a human being. It could be your dog, or a
tree or God
• In line with this, we must remember that a privileged form of
relationship is the I-Thou relationship. This relationship involves
effort.
INTERSUBJECTIVE HUMAN
RELATIONS
UNDERPRIVILEGED SECTORS OF
THE SOCIETY
• being described as the group of people that is suffering from
different forms of social deprivation such as denial of the
enjoyment of similar level of comfort and/or fundamental right as
most members of a civilized society due to several economic and
social circumstances.
• This group is less in terms of material possessions and basic
social benefits, like education and health services, in comparison
of the people in a certain society.
• Furthermore, this group of individuals is facing various
dimensions of poverty, such as income poverty, health
deprivation, human rights violations, gender inequality, and many
more
• These dimensions have incapacitated many members of the
human society like women, children, and the LGBTQ+ community,
wherein all are classified as underprivileged.
• The marginalized sectors which include jeepney drivers farmers,
fisherfolks and more are considered underprivileged
• Marginalized sectors are the groups of individuals that are
experiencing the so-called marginalization, which is the act of
downgrading a person, a class of people, or a concept to an
insignificant, secondary or powerless situation in a society.
• Globally, women and children are being subjected to oppression
and different forms of exploitation, such as prostitution and
pornography that assault human dignity and violate human rights.
• They have turned into slaves of these criminal activities because
of different social and economic conditions like poverty and lack of
opportunity.
LGBTQI++ COMMUNITY
DIALOGUE- genuine interaction between two individuals where there
is an acknowledgment of the individual differences while talking,
listening, and discussing with one another in the spirit of respect and
• victims of different types of violence.
mutual understanding.
• Many of them are experiencing numerous adverse treatment like
EMPATHY- ability to share emotions. emotion is driven by a person's bullying, discrimination, physical violence, and even sexual assault
because of their sexual orientations and gender identities.
awareness that the other is a person with thoughts and feelings.
Human relations are actively aware of the emotional states of other • facing work-related issues.
people, and they use this information to determine their own actions • Acc. to Emmanuel Levinas (1905-1995) French philosopher, we
must go beyond ourselves and concentrate more on rendering
and behavior.
assistance passionately and acting with concern towards others,
particularly to the members of our society who have become
AVAILABILITY- willingness of person to be present and be at the
disposal of one another. You may have encountered a situation where victims of different dimensions of poverty.
- We should have the courage to defend them from any form of
you need help or others need help ad you become readily available
social deprivation and discrimination.
for one another.
- We can do this by voicing out our concerns and obligating our
government officials to enact bills and ordinances or strictly
implement the laws that we already have, that aim to protect the
underprivileged from several oppressive treatments and make
these people enjoy the same social services, such as education,
employment and health care as most members of the society.
• We can help the underprivileged by sincerely and consistently
joining in campaigns or movements that seek to empower them.
• It is our obligation to help the underprivileged since they are
Acc. to United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons
considered as vulnerable to different forms of human rights
with Disabilities
violation and social deprivation.
- term "persons with disabilities" is used to apply to those persons
• It is important to promote INCLUSIVITY the practice or policy of
who have long- term physical, psychological, intellectual, or sensory
providing equal access to opportunities and resources for people
impairments which in interaction with several unreasonable or
who might otherwise be excluded marginalized, such as those
discriminatory barriers may obstruct their full and active participation
having physical or mental disabilities or belonging to other
as equal members of the society.
minority groups.
LESSON 2.2
PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
(PWD'S)
→
HELLEN KELLER (1880-1968)
• American author, political activist
• First deaf-blind person to earn a bachelor's degree
• Anne Sullivan -Helen Keller's mentor was also visually impaired
• Published her autobiography, "The story of my life"
NICOLAS JAMES "NICK" VUJICIC (1982)
• Australian evangelist and motivational speaker who was born with
phocomella, a condition in which a person is born with no arms or
legs.
• Founder of Life without Limbs, a non-profit organization and
ministry.
1. Identify the different types of society
2. Differentiate their qualities
3. Explain digital society and digital citizenship
4. identify the effects of being a member of digital society