philo L4

• Positive Freedom


  Includes the power to self govern and self-determine which course of action is necessary and important for a person
• Negative Freedom


  The absence of external control, coercion, or oppressive powers that enable the individual to exercise freedom with authority and sovereignty
• Political philosophers have strong advocates for the reasonable limitation of freedom
• Negative Freedom


  Absence of Arbitrary Coercion
• Thomas Hobbes


  • Believed human beings are, by nature, greedy and selfish
  • This is fundamentally grounded and stirred by one's craving for wealth and power
  • People therefore should not be trusted to make decisions on their own
  • A ruler must be authoritative (a leviathan)
• John Locke


  • Believed "All men and women are created equal by God"
  • Freedom should be exercised by all human beings since it is off the divine cradle
  • Explained freedom in the context of Social Contract - People give up a degree of freedom in exchange of security and protection (Theory on the relationship of people and the government)
• John Stuart Mill


  • "The only freedom which deserves the name, is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of their or impede their effort to obtain it"
  • The freedom to seek one's own happiness is a summum bonum for every person and can only be violated if the effect of one's freedom harms another person
  • Utilitarianism- "greatest good for the greatest number of people"
• Positive Freedom


  Self-Rule "self mastery, that is being your own master"
• The notion of freedom is quite difficult to distinguish from its "real self" with an external reality, i.e., collective will. society, state, church, and/or God, and legitimize the moral value or coercion as a necessary condition to the exercise of freedom
• According to Berlin, exercising freedom on behalf of someone else's "real life" is dishonorable act or a moral pretense
• Traditional comportments of freedom

  • Self-mastery is best achieved when one lessens or abstains from the desires of the flesh
  • The mind should be attuned to a more stable and authentic object, something that transcends the concrete and finds illumination in that state of being
• "Mindfulness and conscientious effort are the keys to enlightened self"
• Philosophies emphasizing traditional comportments of freedom

  • BUDDHISM
  • STOICISM
  • ASCETICISM
• Immanuel Kant


  • Freedom based on his discourse on MORAL PHILOSOPHY- Contemplates what is right and wrong
  • Categorical Imperative- state that one must act only according to that maxim which an individual can become a universal law. (Rational, Supreme and absolute)
  • It can be known through a priori rational reflection of the individual
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau


  • "Men are born free, yet everywhere are in chains"
  • Only a Legitimate government that has the consent of the people can hold authority and empower the citizens to enter a social contract for the sake of mutual protection
  • To restore peace, people enter into a social contract by forming a civil society
• Existentialist notion of freedom

  • There is no predetermined meaning or cosmic mediation that would render fullness of meaning in life
  • The choice that we make determine the kind of life we create
• Jean-Paul Sartre


  • "Existence precedes essence"
  • "We are all doomed to be free"
  • We are inherently free to make choices and determine our own paths in life
  • Freedom qualifiedly called "freedom" only if we are responsible for the decision and action that make
  • Existentialism Is a Humanism- mean human must exist first before he/she creates his/her essence
• Freedom and determinism create an antimony that can further be differentiated as free will and incompatibilism
• In scientific discourse, freedom is viewed as something illusory since there is no way we can prove or disprove it
• Determinism


  All actions or events that occur are (directly or indirectly) influenced or conditioned by prior causes or reasons
• Direct Influence


  • Tuwing ala-singko ng hapon si Anna ay naglalakad lakad sa park upang makapag-distress galing sa trabaho
• Indirect Influence


  • Ngayong araw si Anna ay nag decide munang hindi maglakad lakad sa park dahil sa pagod mula sa trabaho
• Two major kinds of determinism

  • Soft determinism
  • Hard determinism
• Soft determinism (Compatibilism)


  Assumes that we are determined by certain factors or prior causes, yet we are at the same time free
• Soft determinism representatives


  • ST. AUGUSTINE
  • BARUCH SPINOZA
  • FRIEDRICH SCHLEIERMACHER
• Soft determinism example


  • Imagine you're already riding on a jeep going to school, then unexpectedly nasiraan ang jeep na sinasakyan mo and because of that factor ma-le-late ka sa class mo. While external factors (nasiraan ang jeep) influence your behavior/action you still have some degree of freedom to choose or decide within those constraints. You decided to ride on another jeep.
• Hard determinism (Incompatibilism)


  Assume that freedom and determinism are irreconcilable since all actions are causally determined either by natural law or certain preconditions that are found in society, environment, or familial upbringing
• Hard determinism representatives


  • David Hume
  • Baron Von Holbach
• Hard determinism example


  • Consider a man who is driving erratically and meets with an accident due to an ongoing collision with a tree. "Wala tayong choice, nangyari na."
• Six types of freedom

  • PHYSICAL FREEDOM
  • MORAL FREEDOM
  • PSYCHOLOGICAL FREEDOM
  • MORAL FREEDOM
  • SOCIAL FREEDOM
  • POLITICAL FREEDOM
  • EXISTENTIAL FREEDOM
• Physical Freedom


  • Means freedom from external imperatives or any oppressive forces that restrict the individual capacity to choose in a certain situation
  • Absence of physical restraint
  • Free to move wherever he/she goes
• Physical Freedom example


  • Imagine you're on vacation at a beautiful beach resort. What activities would you do for the whole vacation? Naranasan mo na ba ang kumilos ayon sa gusto mong gawin?
• Moral Freedom


  • Absence of constraint through the punitive and oppressive force of moral imperative
  • Capacity to choose the good and direct one's action toward the good and avoid the wicked
• Moral Freedom example


  • How do you think Moral Freedom influences your decisions and actions in everyday life? Can you think of a specific situation where you had to make a moral choice, and how did your understanding of moral freedom play a role in that decision?
• Psychological Freedom


  • The capacity of the individual to choose anything when all the vital conditions are perceived and present in any given situation
  • Also called freedom of choice
  • Absence of mental, emotional, or spiritual coercion or pressure
• Psychological Freedom example


  • "Choose the right and wise"
• Social Freedom


  Is not just independence for social determinism; it is a particular way of appropriating or exercising of individual assimilation of freedom in society
• Political Freedom


  • Is often linked with the notion of liberty and autonomy
  • Such civil liberties and natural rights, when executed and applied properly without any unjustified intervention by government, are deemed free and autonomous
  • Example: Right to speak freely, right to vote, right to own property, right to worship etc.
• Existential Freedom


  • Being free implies assuming responsibility for one's actions
  • Being responsible implies being accountable for others as well
• Some common misconceptions on freedom

  • Subjectivistic Freedom
  • Transcendental Freedom
  • Scientistic Freedom
  • Populist Freedom