Philo

• Freedom


  A social and political concept that has great significance in how people participate in society
• The concept of freedom emerged as an important philosophical issue in 18th-century Europe during the Age of Enlightenment
• During the Age of Enlightenment


  1. Intellectuals pondered the origins of society and the state and the nature of human freedom

  2. Enlightenment thinkers believed that early man existed in a "natural state" and had absolute freedom

  3. The establishment of societies required people to surrender some of their freedom in order to live in harmony with others and ensure the survival of society
• Freedom in a political and social context

  The freedom of an individual from oppression, compulsion, or coercion from other persons, an authority figure, or from society itself
• Realize that "All Actions Have Consequences"
• Freedom of the Human Person

  • It highlights freedom from the intellectual, political, spiritual, and economic aspects
  • To be free is a part of humanity's authenticity
  • Freedom consists of going beyond situations such as physical or economic
• Moral acts

  Are always particular acts, are in our power to initiate and engage, and we are responsible for them
• Aristotle

  • Reason can legislate, but only through will can its legislation be translated into action
  • The task of practical intellect is to guide will by enlightening it; will is to be understood wholly in terms of intellect
  • If there were no intellect, there would be no will
  • The happiness of every human being is in his own hands, to preserve and develop, or to cast away
• Aristotle

  • A human being is rational; reason is a divine characteristic
  • Reason can legislate, but only through will can its legislation turned into action
  • The will of humanity is an instrument of free choice and borne out by: Our inner view 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 Aquinas

  • Was a Catholic priest in the Dominican Order and one of the most important Medieval philosophers and theologians
  • He gives five proofs for God's existence as well as an explication of His attributes. He argues for the actuality and incorporeality of God as the unmoved mover and describes how God move through His thinking and willing
• St. Thomas Aquinas: Love is Freedom


  • St. Thomas Aquinas considers the human being as a moral agent
  • We are both the spiritual and body elements. (The unity between both elements indeed helps us to understand our complexity as human beings)
  • Our spirituality separates us from animals; it delineates moral dimension of our fulfillment in an action
  • St. Thomas believed that in the plan of God, a human being has to develop and perfect himself by doing his daily tasks and cooperation with God
• Fourfold Classification of Law by Aquinas

  • Eternal law is the decree of God that governs all creation
  • Natural law is the human "participation" in the eternal law which is discovered by reason. (Natural law is based on "first principles" – it states that nothing exists without a sufficient reason for its being and existence)
  • Human law is man-made law that should not only be obeyed but also obeyed voluntarily and with understanding
  • Divine law deals with interior disposition as well as external acts and ensures the final punishment of all evildoings. (The analysis of the divine law is the function of theology)
• St. Thomas Aquinas: Spiritual Freedom

  • St. Thomas Aquinas establishes the existence of God as a first cause of all God's creations, human beings have the unique power to change themselves and things around them for the better
  • As humans, we have a conscience because of our morality
  • God is love and love is our destiny
• Freedom also entails the recognition of certain rights and entitlements of persons

  • Natural rights refer to rights that are innate in the person such as the right to life
  • Legal rights are rights that are based on society's customs and laws and are enacted by legislation and enforced by a government
  • Theological views define freedom as freedom from sin and living a life of righteousness
• Christians define freedom


  In the context of living in accordance with the will of God
• Three Kinds of Freedom

  • Physical Freedom
  • Psychological Freedom
  • Moral Freedom
• Physical Freedom

  The absence of any physical restraint and the freedom of mobility to act and go whatever, whenever, and wherever he or she pleases
• Moral Freedom

  • Using freedom in a manner that upholds dignity and goodness
  • Freedom is not an object that a person may use in whatever he or she pleases
  • A person becomes freer 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
• Freedom gives us the choice to undertake one of these possible actions. It also enables us to come up with new choices
• The essence of freedom is that it does not confine our actions to those set or expected by others; we can imagine our actions and decide to undertake them
• Reflecting upon your actions will enable you to know yourself better as a person. Your actions also determine to uphold human dignity and freedom
• Freedom requires a degree of control from the person who exercises it
• "We are who we are because of the choices we make."
• Life is a long journey, and, in this journey, we would likely face the same situations again and again. Every repeated choice that we make in the same scenario can develop into a habit. If this habit continues, it becomes one of your character traits
• Happiness (eudaimonia) is the ultimate goal of human life according to Aristotle.