UNIT III:

Philosophy
and Society
PRE-FINAL LECTURE
 Contents

Freedom
The Person and Others
Man and Society
01

FREEDOM
1. FREEDOM (Learning Objecives)
discuss philosophical views on
freedom
relate freedom to human rights,
society, politics, and morality
describe political views regarding
free will and free action
identify examples of people
exercising their free will
identify and discuss freedom
constraints or limits
WHAT IS FREEDOM?
Freedom or liberty is a social
and political concept that has a
great significance to how people
participate in society.
Age of Enlightenment
Emerged as an important
philosophical issue in 18th-century,
Europe (believed that early man
existed in a “natural state” and had no
absolute freedom)
This period means, people enter into a
“social contract” that outlines and
defines the freedom they will enjoy
and freedom they have to surrender
as members of society.
WHAT IS FREEDOM?
Freedom in political and social
context means the freedom of an
individual from oppression,
compulsion, or coercion from other
person, an authoritative, figure, or
from society.

Political freedom consists of two

types of liberties - positive and
negative liberty.
2 Types of Liberty (Isaiah Berlin)
Positive liberty refers to the ability of
a person to take control of his or her
own life and fulfill his or her potential.
(“capacity to; absence of internal
limits)
Negative liberty, is freedom from
external restraint, barriers, and other
interferences from other people.
(“freedom from; absence of external
limits)
Development of Political Ideologies
Liberalism the preservation of
individual rights and stresses the role of
the government in protecting civil
liberties.
Libertarianism believes that individual,
not the government is the best judge in
upholding and exercising rights.
Socialism thinks freedom as the ability
to acquire economic resources and the
ability to work and act according to
one’s desire.
FREEDOM (Rights and Entitlements of Person)
Natural rights refer to rights that are
innate and in the person, such as
right to life, liberty, privacy, property
etc. (universal and inalienable rights)
Legal rights are rights that are based
on society’s customs and law
enacted by the legislation and
enforced by a government.
Note that the enjoyment of these
rights is based on citizenship.
FREEDOM (Religious view)
Theological view define freedom as
freedom from sin ad living a life of
righteousness. Christians define freedom in
the context of living in accordance wit the
will of God.
In Islam, right o freedom is a principal
value as it is both basis and condition for
one’s testimony to God’s Oneness
(tawḥīd), i.e. the declaration of faith, to be
valid, and as foundation of society, State,
and civilization.
Human Freedom
Human Freedom (freedom), in its simplest
sense is the freedom to make choices in life.
which relate to the concept of human agency.
Human agency, the capacity of a person to act
and exert control over his or her behavior.
Human freedom is expressed in two ways: free
will, capacity to choose from alternative
courses of action or decision meanwhile free
action, freedom to perform an action without
any obstacles and decision.
DISCUSSION ON FREE WILL
Human acts are voluntary actions where
the individual has a motive and full
knowledge of the action with the
inclusion of morality.
Acts of man are involuntary actions that
occur naturally in the human being (
functions of senses) or actions without
the knowledge of the agent
(sleepwalking).
VARIOUS WAYS PEOPLE CAN EXERCISE FREE
WILL AND FREE ACTION
Faculties model refers to free will as the
use of our mental faculties - assumes that
we have free will due to our intellect
because each human action is based on
rationality and sound judgement.
VARIOUS WAYS PEOPLE CAN EXERCISE FREE
WILL AND FREE ACTION
Hierarchical model which argues that free
will is based on human wants and desires.

Reasons-responsive view believes that a

person has free will because he/she is able
to entertain reasons not to enact a certain
decision and act upon them when the
need arises.
CONSTRAINTS ON OUR FREEDOM
Human freedom, however, has its
constraints includes obstacles such
as prohibitions, laws and other
social controls imposed by the
society.

Also, physical constraints like

disability or sickness, or coercion
exerted by another person prevents
from performing action.
CONSTRAINTS ON OUR FREEDOM
Other external factors that may
restrict free action include
weather, accidents, or poverty.

Internal constraints on free will

include manipulation and
brainwashing - methods that
cloud a person’s judgement.
EFFECTIVELY EXERCISING FREEDOM IN
OUR LIVES
Moral responsibility refers to a
person’s status as deserving praise
and reward, or blame and
punishment for an action.

It is an effective guide for the

proper exercise of human
freedom with the inclusion of
control and regulation.
02
THE
PERSON
AND
OTHERS
HOW DOES AN INDIVIDUAL RELATE TO
OTHER PEOPLE.
The answer in through interpersonal
relations— self-awareness,
individuality, and authenticity.

Self-awareness - refers to the

understanding of oneself as an
existing human being that recognizes
human existence as dsitinct from
other living being.
HOW DOES AN INDIVIDUAL RELATE TO
OTHER PEOPLE.
Individuality - refer to the person’s
awareness that he/she should live
his/her life on his/her own terms and
live a life that is distinct to others.

Authenticity - achieved once the

individual’s thoughts, ideas, and
actions express and uphold his/her
individuality.
HOW DOES AN INDIVIDUAL RELATE TO
OTHER PEOPLE.
For interpersonal relations to exist, there
must be first recognition of the self and
the other. “Self” is the awareness of
one’s individuality meanwhile “other”
refers to object outside of personal
experience.
An individual is naturally aware of
him//herself as a distinct being (self)
and yet he/she is also aware there are
other beings apart from him/her (other).
WHAT IS INTERSUBJECTIVITY?
The shared awareness and
understanding among person and
is evident in everyday social
interactions in which seen as the
ability of human to agree and
cooperate, shared/common
knowledge and shared emotions
like grief, joy and love.
Various Levels of Self-other Interaction

1. Simple awareness of the

existence of the other.
2. Awareness of the self as
being seen by other.
3. Aware of another significant
fact.
Various Levels of Self-other Interaction

Simple awareness of the

existence of the other.

Awareness that other people

are distinct from you and exists
outside of your own awareness
and perception.
Various Levels of Self-other Interaction

Awareness of the self as being

seen by other.

Awareness that other people

your looking at suddenly stops
and looks straight at you this
person’s action made you
consider as a other.
Various Levels of Self-other Interaction

Aware of another significant fact.

Awareness that other stranger

staring at you is aware of you is
aware of you as person.
Self-consciousness is considered
to be a defining characteristic of
the self-other relationship.
IMPORTANT ASPECT OF SELF-OTHER
RELATIONSHIP
RECOGNITION OF OTHERS, in
which according to philosopher
Axel Honneth there’s three types
of recognition; love, respect, and
social esteem denial of this
recognition can be seen as
injustice.
INTERSUBJECTIVITY
Martin Buber referred seeming
when an individual presents
him/herself in a certain way when
dealing with other which also
Buber describes persons as taking
roles or characters when dealing
with certain people or situation.
(unconscious and natural for
humans)
INTERSUBJECTIVITY
Buber identifies much deeper level of
interaction—dialogue which refers to
a genuine relationship established
among individuals.
Buber concepts of dialogue present
two entities
1. Self is always present alongside
with other
2. Distancing of self from the other
(monologue).
WOW DO RELATIONSHIP DEFINE
THE HUMAN PERSON?
Jean-Paul Sartre (existentialist)
considers human relationships as
frustrating, often inauthentic, and
ambiguous. According to him, human
tends to view others as a means to
achieve certain desires. This views
rise to the feelings of alienation,
where an individual ceases to view
other as a distinct and authentic
person.
WOW DO RELATIONSHIP DEFINE
THE HUMAN PERSON?
Karl Max, states that alienation
happens when a human being is
treated as an object instead of human
being in which this gives rises to the
exploitation of people .

Edith Stein defines the self-other

relationship as being driven by
empathy—the awareness and
recognition that the other is a human
person with thoughts and feelings.
WOW DO RELATIONSHIP DEFINE
THE HUMAN PERSON?
Edmund Husserl believes that
intersubjectivity is more that just
share understanding; it is the
capability to put oneself, “in the
place where the other is.”

Gabriel Marcel defines a genuine

relationship as one based on
availability or the willingness of a
person to be present and be at the
disposal of another.
WOW DO RELATIONSHIP DEFINE
THE HUMAN PERSON?
Ethics of care emphasizes the
moral dimension of relationships
and interaction. Encourages
individuals to see the needs of the
other people.
Carol Gilligan states that human
beings are inherently relational,
and interdependence is one of
their essential properties.
WOW DO RELATIONSHIP DEFINE
THE HUMAN PERSON?
Being-with-others: a human
person who continually seeks
and maintains harmonious
relationship.