The Free Will of Man: Is It Really Free Will



Thesis Statement

Because of the research in my area, I can state that the debate over free will can be attributed over to religion, as well as, philosophical and scientific disciplines. Moreover, free will is a core component of humanity and agreement on it can be achieved from the point of view of all the above mentioned disciplines.

Table of Contents

Thesis Statement1

Introduction3

Body4

Historical Foundations of the Concept of Free Will4

Greek Origins4

Patristic and Medieval Development6

Later Scholasticism and Protestantism7

Modern Thought9

Proponents of Free Will10

Theological Context of Free Will11

Conclusion15

End Notes17

Bibliography19



The Free Will of Man: Is It Really Free Will

Introduction

Does man have free will? This question has been asked within the church since its inception. If man's will is free then in a sense there is a part of creation that exists outside of God's control, bringing His sovereignty into question. If man does not have free will his significance as the height of the created order is lessened. The question is further clouded by the fact that the Bible seems to support both ideas; that man is free and wholly responsible for his actions and that God is sovereign over every action within his creation. Paul Tillich describes the issue writing, “The question is whether the moral imperative is dependent on the divine grace for its actualization, or whether divine grace is dependent on the fulfillment of the moral imperative.” This debate has been the cause of much disagreement throughout the history of the church. Brought to the forefront of debate by Augustine, arguing for the sovereignty of God, and Pelagius, arguing for the free will of man, the discussion over the relationship between God's control and man's ability has continued to this day. Sometimes called free choice or free decision, free will is an ability characterizing man in the voluntary activity of choosing or not choosing a limited good when this is presented to him. It is the basis for asserting man's unique dignity among creatures, as well as for maintaining that he is a person. On it is founded much of the tradition of Western law and morality. Again, it has important consequences in the social order; a person's outlook on man as a strictly determined being or as an autonomous moral person is bound to condition, to some extent, his attitude toward the rehabilitation of criminals and of the mentally ill. This paper discusses the historical and religion dimensions of the debate over free will and summarizes how it can be achieved.

Body

Historical Foundations of the Concept of Free Will

The main stages in the development of the notion of free will may be characterized as follows: the philosophical bases were first proposed by Greek thinkers; these were then developed systematically by patristic and medieval writers, under the influence of the Christian religion; then controversies arose in later scholasticism, traceable largely to the Protestant Reformation and its underlying causes; and these were followed, finally, by the diversity of views that typifies modern thought on the subject.

Greek Origins

 The early Greeks generally believed that inanimate things, as well as human beings and the ...