Rogelyn Lingahan September 3, 2019
Grade 12-STEM A Mrs. Benigno
SUMMARY
Reporters stated, “Freedom is an intrinsic and essential property of
the person”. They mean that the human person by nature is a free being and
that it is in his or her nature to search freedom. A significant
indication of human freedom is the ability to make choices and perform
actions. Our freedom to act sets us apart from other beings. We as a human
does not experience the world in the same way that animals do. Animals act
instinctively, meaning, their actions are more like predetermined
responses to certain stimuli. A person, on the other hand, can choose the
course of action to take because we have that freedom to choose and do it
in a proper way. Freedom is also known as the power to be what you want to
be and the ability to decide and create yourself. Also freedom gives us the
ability to strive our goals. It is also rooted in the person's self-
determination and the exercise of intellect and free will. This means that
a person's every action is freely determined and this actions define him
or her. This is the nature of self-determination: that a person's actions
determined what kind of person he or she becomes. Humans who are denied
their freedom by other individuals, groups, and institutions are also
dehumanized. Slavery is a dehumanizing act because a person is forced to
work for life without the possibility of leaving a life of bondage. A
person who is imprisoned is also dehumanized because he or she is denied
his or her freedom and is confined to prison life. However, that same
person also dehumanized the person whom he or she wronged.
They also discussed the three kinds of freedom. Physical freedom,
it refers to the absence of any physical restraint. The person has the
freedom of mobility to go where he or she wants to go. He or she is not
impeded in his or her actions by any physical force. Granted that the
person has natural limitations, physical freedom allows him or her to act
and move in a determined manner. Psychological freedom is also called
freedom of choice. The person is free to perform actions that he or she
considers right and wise. A person is also free to act or not to act.
Psychological freedom is innate and cannot be denied a person. No outside
force or influence can compel a person to take action against his or her
will. Moral freedom refers to using freedom in a manner that upholds human
dignity and goodness. Freedom is not an object that a person may use in
whatever way he or she pleases. A person must use his or her freedom to
grow as a person. A person becomes more free when he or she uses freedom
well, but becomes less free when he or she uses it in a bad way.
Freedom is experienced through the act of making choices.
REFLECTION
Doe Zantamata said that “There is no greater freedom than
the freedom to be yourself. Give yourself that gift, and choose
to surround yourself with those who appreciate you exactly as
you truly are”. In my understanding in his statement, there is a
freedom if we choose to be ourselves. Like there is nothing
stops you from what you want to do. We can achieve our goals by
deciding and create ourselves. We all deserve that freedom
especially if the actions that we take is not in a bad way. But
people must have that self-determination to act freely. Freedom
gives us the choice to undertake one of the 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 new actions and decide to
undertake them.
Human has freedom but it also requires a degree of control
from the person who exercises it. A person becomes more free
when he or she exercises control over himself or herself. On the
other hand, a person becomes less free when he or she is no
longer in control of himself or herself and is instead
controlled by other forces. People who behave impulsively and
erratically are more similar to animals than persons. To lose
control of oneself diminishes human freedom and dehumanizes the
person. We must respect other’s freedom to gain also that
respect from others.
“To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to
live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others”-
Nelson Mandela