San Beda College – Manila

Mendiola, Manila

Escaping the Anguish of Freedom: Understanding Civil Law as a System in Establishing Predefined Standard of Rules to Escape Abandonment

Prepared by:

Benazir Ching

Joseph Marnic De Mesa

Matt Kaiser Devela

Neil Bryan Farne

Jesus Angelo Gomez

Trisha Ibis

Jan Roseller Logronio

Raniel Omli

Miko Jim Paulo Panganiban

Jonela Ronato

Jan Emmanuel Venturanza

2G

Dom Augustine Mary, OSB

Professor

Introduction:

Man seeks to provide meaning for his existence. He is continuously searching for an

“authentic human life.” As the philosopher and atheist Jean-Paul Sartre wrote, “It is we

ourselves, who decide who we are to be.” He emphasized how we are in full control of our

being, thus, we are completely responsible for whatever consequences happen as a result of our

actions (Mart, 2012.)

Furthermore, Sartre also wrote that man is condemned to be free. He believed that as

opposed to the positive connotation of the word freedom, man is actually burdened by the reality

that he is bound to take full responsibility for his actions (Cline, 2015.) The freedom being

presented by Sartre is so radical and extreme that man is left without any guidelines or set of

rules to follow to determine how one should behave.

If such is the case, then it is only proper that man himself should also create the necessary

body of rules to serve as guidelines, if not limitations, to lighten the burden of being absolutely

free. Isaiah Berlin has introduced us with the notion of obedience and coercion as two concepts

of liberty (Manzi, 2013.) He presents us with ideas as to the effects of controlling man’s actions

by giving him a set of rules to follow. The question still lingers, did these concepts provide

contentment to man’s existence or we are just witnessing the repercussions of using the legal

system to subject man to obedience and coercion? In the end, what man desires is to know how

these ideas could positively contribute to his human experience and existence.

Statement of the Problem:

This study aims to understand how civil law as a legal system establishes predefined standard

of rules which affects the freedom of man; specifically, it seeks to shed light to the following

matters:

1.) Whether or not man’s condemnation to freedom deters him from identifying what is good

or evil.

2.) Whether or not man’s own initiative to set a predefined standard of rules for himself

relieves him of the pain of abandonment.

3.) Whether or not “controlled liberty,” a product of the legal system, civil law, has been an

effective tool for man to escape the anguish of freedom.

OUTLINE:

I. Abstract

II. Introduction

III. Statement of The Problem

IV. Freedom as an Inherent Part of Human Existence

A. Man’s Condemnation to Freedom

1. Absence of Absolute Standards of Behavior

2. Presence of Universal Human Experience

V. Civil Law as an Escape from Abandonment

A. Significance as a Legal System

B. Establishment of Controlled Freedom

1. Positive Freedom

2. Negative Freedom

C. Significance to the Progress of Society

VI. Summary

VII. Conclusion

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