Chapter 10 Free to be Fully Alive

Thinking about Freedom

John Lenon “Imagine”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwUGSYDKUxU

What does freedom mean to you?

Shel Silverstien: Colors

My skin is kind of sort of brownish

Pinkish yellowish white.

My eyes are grayish blueish green,

But I’m told they look orange in the night.

My hair is reddish blondish brown,

But it’s silver when it’s wet.

And all the colors I am inside

Have not been invented yet

Learning Goals

After today’s lesson, we will be able to understand the connection between human freedom and personal identity

We will be able to understand Erikson and Kohlberg’s models of ethical development

We will explore and understand both the positive and negative aspects of human freedom.

Key Terms

Capacity: power or ability to act, to know, to hold, etc. Aptitude or ability.

Crisis: opportunity or occasion for an important decision. A crucial or decisive point in a situation that can signify either a change for the better or a change for the worse.

Licence: disregard for norms governing behaviour; irresponsible action. “Anything goes”—sometimes mistaken for freedom

Object: A physical or mental reality toward which thoughts, feelings or actions can be directed

Key Terms

Subject: The “self” that thinks, acts, feels.

Will: The freedom and power of the self to choose, decide, act. Deliberate control over thought and action.

Right: an entitlement or claim.

- A human right is based solely on the dignity of being human.

- -Legal or civil rights have arisen from the need to set up parameters that allow people to live cooperatively and without harm in a community or state.

Defining Freedom

Freedom is the power, rooted in reason and will, to act or not to act, to do this or that, and so to perform deliberate actions on one’s own responsibility. By free will one shapes one’s own life. Human freedom is a force for growth and maturity in truth and goodness. According to the Catechism, it attains it’s perfection when directed toward God. (page 189)

The wonder of freedom

Freedom is a wonderful, but difficult gift. It is not easy to live freely, for with freedom comes responsibility.

Without freedom there is no morality

The Origins of Freedom

God created humankind with free will.

Freedom is the hallmark of human nature: it sets us apart from anything else in nature.

Freedom reveals itself only when I struggle against my limits.

Freedom is a capacity of the human self

God created man in his image and established him in his friendship. A spiritual creature, man can live his friendship only in free submission to God. The prohibition against eating “of the tree of knowledge of good and evil” spells this out: “for in the day that you eat of it, you shall die” The “tree of knowledge of good and evil” symbolically evokes the insurmountable limits that man, being a creature, must freely recognize and respect with trust. Man is dependant on his Creator, and subject to the laws of creation and to the moral norms that govern the use of freedom. (CCC #396)

St. AugustineSt. Augustine first discovered freedom in our capacity to say no to God.

He uncovered the terrible grandeur of freedom in the experience of evil and sin.

Our freedom, though a gift from God, has the terrible capacity to turn us away from him.

This ability to sin, and commit acts of evil shows that the abuse of freedom does harm to the core of human existence, which at heart is our relationship with God.

Therefore: Freedom’s reach is

infinite

In the book of Genesis, the serpent entices Eve with the promise: “God knows that when you eat of it (the fruit) your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (3.5)

Here, we see Eve fulfilling Augustine’s fear—freedom is denying its greatest good, which is God. It is allowing Eve to commit sin and turn away from God.

Descartes: Changing our understanding of Freedom

In the seventeenth century, Rene Descartes discovered that the self was a capacity that could think and doubt freely.

Famous for the statement, “I think, therefore I am”. I am free to think freely.

Freedom is a capacity of the human self. For the first time in history, thinkers isolated in humans “I”, what we call the self.

Recognizing the self as free

The self is not a thing or an object, but a power or an energy in each individual.

I am free to become myself despite all constrains around me. I have this capacity.

In Catholic moral theology this is often referred to as basic or core freedom. In the Catechism this freedom is called, “a force for growth and maturity in truth and goodness. It attains perfection when directed toward God” (#1731)

Positive vs. Negative Developments

We will now explore two different aspects of how we look at freedom:

The recognition of the self as free has been both a blessing, and at times, a curse. We recognize ourselves as individuals who have the right to dignity and respect (positive)

On the other hand, we have become more self-centered and driven by individualistic needs with a focus on our own autonomy and power (negative)

Positive Developments

1) From a psychological and sociological perspective, freedom grows and matures over a person’s life time to eventually, ideally lead to moral strength and stability.

2) Our recognition of the self as free eventually leads to the human rights and freedoms tradition.

Erik EriksonDevelopmental psychology shows how, over a lifetime, our personal freedom can either mature or decline depending on how we respond to different challenges in our lives.

He suggests that personality development occurs as we develop physically and cognitively. This development takes place as the result of socialization by parents, teachers, and other influential members of society.

Our personal growth is bound up at every level with our relationships to those around us.

Erikson’s Cognitive Developmental Stage Theory

Erikson discovered a pattern to this psychological and social growth

He proposed that this process occurs in 8 stages and spans the whole of one’s lifetime.

Each stage of life presents us with a unique and specific challenge that we must face and overcome in order to advance to the next developmental stage.

The healthier our personality development, the greater our capacity for freedom.

The specific challenges he refers to is usually a Crisis: opportunity or occasion for an important decision. A crucial or decisive turning point in a situation that can signify either a change for the better or for the worse. (eg. Falling in love, a death in the family)

You can find detailed explanations of each stage on pages 191-92 in the textbook

Trust vs. Mistrust

-happens in the first years of life

-Crisis: learn through his or her caregivers whether or not to trust others

-Successful resolution occurs if the child develops a sense of trust rather than mistrust

-Because of trust, the child is able to form relationships that express a healthy dependence on others.

Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

During the next two years of life.

Crisis: a healthy need for independence or autonomy. It is a crisis because it is a struggle between the will of the child and that of the parents.

If the child is not allowed to experience independence they will most likely experience feelings of shame or doubt.

This stage is extremely important to the development of teens and adults as independent thinkers.

Initiative vs. GuiltHappens as children approach their first years of school

Crisis: children are expected to assume more responsibility for their behavior, appearance, school work and peer interactions

Responsibility develops into initiative. Failure to develop responsibility often leads to feelings of guilt.

Here the child builds self-confidence.

Industry vs. Inferiority -Normally occurs in the elementary school years

-As the cognitive abilities of the child advance, he or she experiences a new love of and excitement for learning

-Crisis: Limitations become challenges and new horizons that excite the learner

-The teacher has a significant role in forming in the child a sense of industry

Identity vs.

Identity

Confusion-Happens during adolescence as teens develop the ability to explore different alternatives to questions of concern

-Crisis: seeking to find an identity for themselves

-Parents and teachers can either help or hinder the individual, by supporting and encouraging or trying to mold the search for identity.

-Either way, they are an important influence

Intimacy vs. Isolation

-These are the early adult years

-Crisis: Forming intimate relationships with others

-A healthy relationship is one in which one is capable of to give oneself for the good of the other.

-Without this ability, a person cannot develop feelings of intimacy

-Without intimacy, there is isolation

Generativity vs. Stagnation

-These are the mid-life years

-Crisis: A longing to make a productive contribution to the younger generation (generativity)

-Failure to make this contribution leads to feelings of stagnation: Their life at this point will mean nothing to those who come after them

Integrity vs. Despair This stage takes place in the last years of life

Crisis: Individuals evaluate the choices they have made and attempt to see the worth of their lives

If they successfully complete the last 7 stages, they will feel integrity

Without the successful resolution of each crisis, a sense of despair may arise.

Kohlberg’s

Theory of Moral

Development

-Lawrence Kohlberg was a cognitive psychologist who applied developmental psychology specifically to moral development.

-He identified 3 primary stages of moral development.

1) Pre-conventional moral thinking: Infants and pre-school children make moral decisions based on the fear of being punished and the need to fulfill their own desires.

2) Conventional moral thinking: Trust, caring and loyalty to others become more central. These values begin to influence our moral judgment and identity. Rules are followed out of respect for others and obedience to authority.

3) Post-conventional moral thinking: This stage is generally reached in the adult years. Our moral choices are based on principles of justice and concern for the common good. One develops a moral standard based on ethical principles and universal human rights.

Class Activity Each pair will be given a card with a description or situation indicative of one of Erikson’s stages of cognitive development. Read it and decide under which stage of Kohlberg’s theory it belongs to. (5-10 min). At the end of the period come and tape your card under the heading you think it belongs to. Be ready to explain your decision to the class.

Conclusions

Moral development is a process

We make progress but we can also regress

Our progression of stages is influenced by both situations (crisis) and people

As the Catechism states, “The more one does what is good, the freer one becomes” (#1733)

2nd Positive Development: The Human Rights Tradition

Started with the recognition that each and every person has inalienable rights and freedoms

These rights, such as the right to assembly, the right of free speech, the right to integrity of one’s person, the right to life, etc began to be proclaimed by the nations as being “natural rights”

Some of these rights, such as the dignity of the human person are present in the Bible, (ex. Genesis 1.26 declares that human beings are made in the image and likeness of God) However, the Bible does not present them as rights, but a gift from God.

The establishment of rights began to happen from the seventeenth century onwards and even more so after 1945. Why?

WWII: It took the abhorrent events of WWII to pull the attention of political leaders to the realization that the atrocities perpetuated by some states were so terrible that they needed to be considered crimes.

-The world had now witnessed such crimes as genocide, the carpet bombing of cities, torture, disappearances, human experimentation state policies of starvation, slavery, racism, mass rape, discrimination etc.

***The result: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was created by the United Nations in 1948.

First they came…

First they came for the communists,and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.

Then they came for the socialists,and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me.

Martin Niemöller was a German pastor and theologian born in Lippstadt, Germany, in 1892. Niemöller was an anti-communist and supported Hitler's rise to power at first. But when Hitler insisted on the supremacy of the state over religion, Niemöller became disillusioned. He became the leader of a group of German clergymen opposed to Hitler. In 1937 he was arrested and eventually confined in Sachsenhausen and Dachau. Niemöller was released in 1945 by the Allies. He continued his career in Germany as a clergyman and as a leading voice of penance and reconciliation for the German people after World War II.

(Wikipedia)

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

It declares certain rights and freedoms as being inalienably human or fundamental

No one, not even the state may revoke these rights, except for in extraordinary circumstances

By being declared and often ratified by governments, these human rights became legal or civil rights.

A right is an entitlement or claim that is based solely on the dignity of being human. A person’s dignity, in other words inherently claims or is entitled to certain necessities such as food, shelter, or employment. In some countries rights are legislated by the government into law. For example, in the United States, citizens have the right to bear arms. This is a legal right and not a human right.

Legal or civil rights are claims or entitlements that have arisen from the need to set up parameters that allow people to live cooperatively and without harm in a community or state. They are rights acknowledged by governments which permit each citizen to participate in government to a varying degree and with certain obligations.

Although the Human Rights movement is secular in origin, it does not mean that the Catholic Church has remained on the sidelines.

It recognizes many of the rights and freedoms as being in harmony with the faith tradition and uses the declarations in its moral teaching.

The social teachings of the Church affirm many of these rights.

For example, at the Second Vatican Council the Church accepted a Declaration on Religious Liberty which in its introductory paragraph welcomes the newly founded consciousness of the dignity of the human person. The Declaration urges everyone to respect the freedom of religion in civil society.

Class Activity http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFcbpGK9_aw

http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/

In groups of 4-5 create The Loyola Catholic Secondary School Declaration of Student Rights

Each declaration must have at least 5 articles

The articles should be what you think are essential rights for students to feel included and safe in their school environment. How should students in the school be treated?

Be prepared to present to the class.

We, as a class will have our own UN meeting where we will pick the most common articles and make one “Universal Declaration”

Negative Effects

Having discussed the two primary positive effects of the discovery of the self as a free agent, we will now explore the downside—the harmful effects.

There are 3 central negative effects:

1) Growing atheism

2) The isolation of the individual

3) Autonomism

The Atheism of Modern Times-The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche proclaimed the dangers of an emerging atheism in his work, The Madman

-He realized that without God humanity is rudderless, without a horizon

-It was like “loosening the earth from the sun”

-Without God, there will be tremendous emptiness in life

-What is perhaps the most damning part of his vision is the accusation, that we, citizens of Western society, have “murdered” God. He asked how we dared to do it.

-As so many visionaries of the West have testified, while God’s name is still remembered, God seems to have died in our culture.

-Atheism is one of the consequences of self-discovery as free.

-I can indeed free myself or anything that is not me. I can doubt not only mathematical or scientific truths; I can be equally skeptical about religious truths and about God.

-Nietzsche predicted that it would become emptier and colder in the world without God.

-He said that in humanity’s headstrong rush forward, without God we would surely lose our firm footing.

Nietzsche’s prediction has come true. The West feels itself pulled and pushed in every direction.

In the public sphere of the West we are expected to be agnostic. God is not to be mentioned. He has been ciphered out of public language and projects even though in private life 85% of Canadians say that they still believe in God (2004)

Another Argument

There is still hope.

According to a global survey on belief and religious indifference from the Pontifical Council for Culture in 2004, “It is not true that atheism is growing in the world. From the militant and organized atheism of other times, we now have a situation of practical indifference, of a loss of the relevance of the question of God, of abandonment of religious practice, above all, in the western world. But not an abandonment of belief in God.”

2) The Isolation of the Individual

In experiencing the self as a subject in modern times, we tend to see ourselves as different and isolated from everything else.

Whatever is not “I”, the subject, becomes and object. The “I” is isolated and set apart.

This new found freedom placed such a high value on our capacity to think and to will that everything else in God’s creation was suddenly reduced in value.

People began to think that the only values that God’s beautiful earth—plants, animals, the soil, the oceans, minerals etc had was “for us”; for our benefit.

These other “objects” have no value in themselves.

They are objects for our use and exploitation without our being responsible for them.

How can the planet benefit me? Not what can I do to benefit the planet?

We no longer see or heed the sacredness of all of God’s creatures

They have become secondary to the advancements and wants of humanity

We no longer live in harmony with our fellow creatures. Is this what God wanted?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baTI3c5Bu08

We need to take responsibility

We are part of a global community

Thomas Berry and the Earth community:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0XBltUQ8qU

The rapid development of science and technology:

The scientific and technological revolution of the past four centuries has been so successful that we tend to see the world through its eyes.

Nature is separated from the spiritual. It is considered on its own as an independent reality. Nature is seen as less and less as a reflection of the glory of God.

It is now and object to be manipulated by the “I”

In Contrast: Peter Mayer, a Christian song writer, holds a sacramental view of the world: “Everything is Holy Now”

The impact of science and technology on freedom:

It was hoped that science and technology would free us from the domination of nature, leaving us in control of our lives.

We would have to work less and be freer to develop ourselves.

Science and technology would serve to make us less dependent. Is this the case?

We work harder and longer hours than ever before and hardly know the value of rest (the Sabbath)

My body as an object:

Since the “I” is located in my thinking capacity, the self was isolated from the body.

It meant that even my body could be reduced to an object.

The human body has lost its sacredness (do you agree?)

The rise of individualism:

There is only one perspective from which to view the world: mine—the isolated “I”

The “I” is where everything begins

The family, the community and the state are made up of such isolated individuals

Communities have come to be seen as voluntary associations where individuals decide to belong and participate only when it serves their individual interests: “what is in it for me?”

World on Fire

Hearts are worn in these dark ages

You’re not alone in this story’s pages

The light has fallen amongst the living and the dying

And I'll try to hold it in, yeah I'll try to hold it in

The world’s on fire and

It’s more than I can handle

I’ll tap into the water

(Try and bring my share)

I’ll try to bring more

More than I can handle

(Bring it to the table)

Bring what I am able

I watch the heavens but I find no calling

Something I can do to change what’s coming

Stay close to me while the sky is falling

Don’t wanna be left alone, don’t wanna be left alone

Hearts break, hearts mend

Love still hurts

Visions clash, planes crash

Still there’s talk of

Saving souls, still the cold

Is closing in on us

We part the veil on our killer sun

Stray from the straight line on this short run

The more we take, the less we become

The fortune of one that means less for some

The world’s on fire and

It’s more than I can handle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzoNInZ2ClQ

3) The rise of autonomy

One of the most detrimental outcomes of the discovery of the self as free is what is known as autonomism: literally, “a law unto myself”

Freedom came to be seen as a power on its own. The rule of reason became secondary

Emphasis began to be placed on the will on its own—on doing whatever one pleases

Freedom in this sense is looking after one’s own well-being and interest

This freedom as a will to power is known as autonomy, where I alone am the moral law

In our final analysis, the notion of autonomy is the freedom “to be like God” (which was the first temptation of Adam and Eve in the garden: Genesis 3.5) This is freedom as a power: a power to do what I will!

This freedom does not want to consider any constraints. This kind of freedom demands that there are no rules.

The more I am able to assert myself from these limitations, the more I am free.

In the end, it is a freedom without morality, having little or no concern for the other.

Freedom and Nature: The limits of freedom

Social Limits to Freedom

We become most aware of our freedom when we experience constraints

Some limits are imposed by individuals in authority (parents, teachers, etc.); other limits are imposed by society (social rules or laws of school, church or state)

Testing these limits is the manifestation of freedom in us; our capacity for freedom showing itself

Moral Limits to Freedom

The limits of our freedom can also be moral or ethical

Acts are moral or ethical because they come from our freedom, but this freedom is not without obligation (with freedom comes responsibility)

Freedom must take account of the moral norms, rules, proverbs, laws and principles that we discussed in Chapter 8

**Only when we reflect on them do we realize how these limitations are not a denial of freedom but a guidance or education of our freedom. With them, we become morally free.

Closing ReflectionThe Paradoxical Commandments

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.

Honesty and Frankness will make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds. Think big anyway.

People favour underdogs, but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build it anyway.

People really need help, but may attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you may get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best your have anyway.