What makes us free? How does freedom shape our experiences?

Two elements that define freedom:

1. Voluntariness

- refers to the ability of a person to act out his or her own free will and self-determination. This means
that a person may decide to act or not to act, and these decisions are made out of his or her own free
will. Voluntariness also means that a person may act even if he or she is not required or called to take
action. Voluntary acts are free acts which can be assigned a corresponding moral value.

Let's analyze the following scenario and figure out how voluntariness was expressed in the situation.

(Scenario 1)

Mang Lito was walking down a street when he suddenly saw a boy crossing the busy road. The boy was
chasing after a basketball that had bounced off into the road. The boy had his eyes on his ball and did
not realize that there was oncoming traffic on the road. At the same time, a taxi was passing along the
road. Its driver saw the boy suddenly crossing and he quickly applied his brake to stop the car. The taxi
was about to hit the boy when Mang Lito decided to take action, run across the road, and grabbed the
boy to safety.

Reflect on the actions and choices that were made in that situation. Why did the boy suddenly cross the
street? What did the taxi driver do when he saw the boy on the road? What did Mang Lito do when he
realized the boy was about to be hit by the car? Did Mang Lito really have to save the boy?

You can argue that he had the freedom to just stand by and not get involved in the incident. If he did
that, what would be the result of his action? Would it be possible for the other people on the sidewalk
to risk their lives like Mang Lito did? What can you say about Mang Lito and his actions? What do you
think will be the result of his actions?

Reflect on your own experiences or actions. Have you ever made a voluntary action to address a bad
situation? You may have come across some situations where you knew that something bad was
happening. Did you make a voluntary action to prevent something bad from happening, or did you
choose not to act?

Look at the following pictures below, figure out what is happening and discuss what would be the best
course of action in this situation.

Whenever we decide to take action, this results in a certain consequence. All human actions have
consequences and these affect not only the person who commits the action, but also other people and
our surroundings. As a free being, the person must accept the consequences of his or her action and
take responsiblity for them them. The second element of freedom is:
2. RESPONSIBILITY

This refers to the person being accountable for his or her actions and their consequences. A kind
responsibility can either mean a person voluntarily taking responsibility for his or her actions, or being
held responsible by other people. Whenever you know you committed a bad action, you can either
voluntarily confess it or other people will point it out and hold you responsible. Responsibility can also
have a positive or negative meaning, and it goes hand-in-hand with voluntariness in determining the
morality of an action.

Let's go back to the situation presented earlier. If Mang Lito was able to rescue the boy from being hit by
car, he could take responsibility for his heroic action. The people who saw his act may regard him as a
hero and express admiration for him. On the other hand, if Mang Lito was unable to save the boy in
time, the taxi driver could be held responsible for hitting the boy. Mang Lito could even hold himself
responsible for failing to save the boy.

Voluntariness and responsibility go hand-in-hand in determining a person's freedom. If any situation

where a person is forced to do an action against his or her will, it follows that he or she cannot be held
responsible for his or her involuntary actions. A person who is forced by bank robbers to open the safety
vault in a bank may not be held fully responsible for the crime of robbery, since he or she acted without
much voluntariness. On the other hand, a person who had no awareness of the effect of his or her
actions can be considered as acting with diminished freedom. One example may be a person who tried
to scare his or her friend by jumping out of a corner wearing a scary mask. The surprised friend decided
to run away but in his or her panic, he or she hit a wall and was injured. It was not the intention of the
person who committed the prank to get his or her friend hurt, but it happened because he or she did
not fully consider the consequences of his or her actions. Without these two elements, human freedom
is diminished, and the person makes imperfect actions and unwise decisions which may have negative
effects on the self and others.

The realization of voluntariness and responsibility in the exercise of our freedom gives out actions and
experiences a whole new meaning. We can now reflect on our actions to better understand them and
guide us toward making the best possible decision.