Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person

About the introduction to the Philosophy of the human person. If you are curious about the topic.

1. INTRODUCTION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON What is Freedom?

2. What is Freedom? Freedom or liberty – a social and political concept which has great significance in how people participate in society. During the Age of Enlightenment , intellectuals pondered on the origins of society and the state and the nature of human freedom. They believed that early man existed in a “natural state” and has absolute freedom. However, the establishment of societies required people to surrender some of their freedoms in order to live in harmony with others and ensure the survival of society. People then, entered into a “social contract” which defined the freedoms they will be enjoying as members of a society and the state.

3. Freedom in a political and social context means the freedom from oppression, compulsion, or coercion from other persons, an authority figure or from society itself. Political freedom: Positive liberty – a person taking control of his or her own life and fulfilling one’s potential Negative liberty – freedom from external restraint, barriers, and other interferences from other people

4. Freedom also entails the recognition of certain rights and entitlements of persons. Natural rights – rights which are innate in the person such as the right to life Legal rights – rights that are based on society’s customs and laws and are enacted by legislation and enforced by a government. The enjoyment of this freedom is based on citizenship.

5. What makes us free? Human freedom is expressed two ways: Free will – the capacity to choose from alternative courses of action or decision Free action – the freedom to perform an action without any obstacles of action or decision

6. What makes us free? The Faculties Model – free will is the use of our mental faculties. It assumes that we have free will due to our intellect and that each human action is based on rationality and sound judgment. The Hierarchical Model – free will is based on human wants and desires. A person exercises free will when he or she identifies one desire as acceptable and decides to act on it.

7. If man is indeed free, how can he exercise free will and action in a world where events are already determined by outside forces?

8. What can prevent us from exercising freedom? Determinism – philosophical view that believes that every event in man’s life or the world is brought about by underlying causes or factors.

9. How can we effectively exercise freedom in our life? The concept of moral responsibility is an effective guide in the proper exercise of human freedom. *Moral responsibility – a person’s status of deserving praise and reward, or blame and punishment for an action.