Lesson 1: Human Freedom and Determinism

Existentialism, according to the lesson, primarily opposes which idea?

• Human dignity

• Fixed human nature; it holds that freedom arises from self-understanding and anxiety

• Natural law determining events

• Obligation as moral responsibility

Which pair correctly contrasts Human Action with Act of Man?

• Human Action is involuntary and biological; Act of Man is voluntary with knowledge and will

• Human Action is voluntary with knowledge and will; Act of Man is involuntary, biological

• Both are voluntary acts linked to freedom

• Both are involuntary acts determined by fate

Determinism in this lesson is best described as:

• The view that freedom arises from anxiety

• Opposing free will; events are fixed by natural law, questioning free choice

• A moral responsibility linked to freedom

• The belief that choice is valuable as it reveals autonomy and responsibility

Which statement best captures Fatalism as defined here?

• View opposing free will by natural law

• Capacity to make responsible choices

• The belief that one is powerless; choice is valuable as it reveals autonomy and responsibility

• A voluntary act with knowledge and will

Which statement best defines intersubjectivity as presented in the lesson?

• Shared awareness and understanding among persons enabled by awareness of self and others

• An individual’s private thoughts isolated from social influence

• The ability to persuade others through logical argument alone

• A purely biological drive to seek companionship

According to Jean-Paul Sartre, what happens when you look at a person and objectify them?

• You expand the person’s possibilities

• You limit the person’s possibilities by a look

• You create a mutual understanding

• You increase empathy and availability

Which pair correctly matches the term with its description?

• Totalization — placing others beyond rational categories

• Empathy — willingness to be present and at the disposal of another

• Availability — ability to share emotions because the other is a person with thoughts and feelings

• Husserl — intersubjectivity includes the capability to put oneself in the place where the other is

Rene Descartes is described as an advocate of which stance?

• Collectivism; thinking is validated by group consensus

• Individualism; thinking is beyond doubt (“Doubt everything that can be doubted”)

• Pragmatism; truth is what works in practice

• Existentialism; freedom arises from anxiety

In Martin Buber’s framework, which option correctly characterizes the I-It relationship?

• The other is treated as distinctly other; genuine sharing occurs

• People make themselves the center of their world

• People treat other people into the status of an object

• The “I” can only be realized through recognition of “others”

Pope John Paul II’s Theory of Participation emphasizes which idea?

• Human persons should isolate themselves to avoid alienation

• Human persons are oriented toward relation and sharing in communal life for the common good

• Dialogue is unnecessary for moral growth

• Totalization strengthens community bonds