Saint Augustine's Deduction that Free Will is a Good Gift from God

928 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: An Essay on Free Will

Saint Augustine's Deduction that Free Will is a Good Gift from God

Before the central theme of this essay is analytically summarized, it

is important to note a few propositions already established in the

conversations between Saint Augustine and Evodius. Firstly, Saint

Augustine has already ascertained that God gave human beings free

choice of the will – Evodius is also sure of this proposition. He

deduces that since our existence came from God, then it must be God

who gave us free will. Secondly, Augustine then questions Evodius on

how he knows that our existence comes from God. His answer begs the

question as he states that our existence must come from God since he

punishes the unjust and rewards those who are good.

Another proposition that must be established before the crux of the

argument may be presented is that although God gave human beings free

will, we must use it to live rightly. This again is resting on the

assumption that God rewards the just and punishes those who use their

free will to sin. Augustine proposes that God does not punish those

who live rightly. Moreover, if free will was intended for living

rightly and unjustly, then punishment of those who sin and reward for

those who live rightly would not be justified. Therefore, Saint

Augustine concludes that free will must have been given to humans by

God for the purpose of living rightly.

This leads to the crux argument discussed between Saint Augustine and

Evodius that free will is a good gift from God. The argument may be

summarized as follows: 1) All good things come from God,...

... middle of paper ...

...ill acts as an intermediary between good and bad choices,

it can neither be labeled as a good gift or a bad gift from God; just

and unjust events are created by the same thing. Therefore, free will

should be labeled as a good and bad gift, or neither good and bad.

With this established, Augustine’s argument should be amended as

follows: 1) All things (good and bad) come from God, 2) God gave

humans free will, therefore, 3) free will is a thing from God.

Saint Augustine does not rely on any a priori propositions; his

argument rests on improvable assumptions which still beg the question

of whether free choice of the will is a good or bad gift. Although

his argument is sound, he is not completely justified in his deduction

as it was clearly shown that his first proposition can be easily

jeopardized in its validity.

Show More
Related

  • Comparing Free Will In St. Augustine Of Hippo, Boethius, And

    242 Words  | 1 Pages

    St. Augustine of Hippo, Boethius, and Anselm all address the concept of free will and God’s foreknowledge in their works “The City of God”, “The Consolation of Philosophy”, and “De Concordia”. While each work was written during a different time period, each of their approaches consists of a solution comprised of both unifying and unique points and arguments. While there is no clear contesting between one work and another, it is clear that free will is a complex and critical idea in Christian theology that has long since been debated. '

    Read More

  • Searle’s Argument against Free Will

    1849 Words  | 4 Pages

    Searle’s argument is one against humans having free will. The conclusion comes from his view on determinism and his view on substances. His view on substances is a materialist one. To him, the entire world is composed of material substances. All occurrences can be explained by these materials. This is a view that is very attuned with (accepting) determinism. Determinism states that necessary causes must be for the occurrence to be. This deterministic cause and effect relationship is apparent in the physical world. Hard believing determinists see determinism as being exclusive of free will. Searle, being a materialist, views humans as just another material substance. He accepts determinism and rejects (libertarian) free will.

    Read More

  • Stace's Views on Freewill

    734 Words  | 2 Pages

    I can most relate with Stace’s views on freewill. I feel that the freewill argument is more about definition and the word’s true meaning. I also agree with his statement of, “if there is no free will there can be no morality.” Stace believes that is doing what we want to do and not being constrained from doing so. Morality is a good argument of why we do what we do. Then there is the idea that we have choices and choices are made by the individual and not by outside influences.

    Read More

  • Walter T. Stace Meaning Of Free Will

    1493 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are a lot of different things that come to mind when somebody thinks of the phrase Free Will, and there are some people who think that free will does not exists and that everything is already decided for you, but there are also people who believe in it and think that you are free to do as you please. An example that explains the problem that people have with free will is the essay by Walter T. Stace called “Is Determinism Inconsistent with Free Will?”, where Stace discusses why people, especially philosophers, think that free will does not exist.

    Read More

  • Augustine's Confessions

    1109 Words  | 3 Pages

    The content of my paper will be an analysis of Augustine’s Confessions. I will focus on the first nine chapters of the book. First, I will write an introductory page about Augustine. Second, I will explain why Augustine wrote the Confessions and the importance of the Confessions as a philosophical work. I will analyze Augustine’s view of God and show the main theme of his book, which is, the sovereign God of grace and the sovereign grace of God. I will focus on Augustine’s view of God and His grace.

    Read More

  • Saint Augustine’s Confessions Outline

    1158 Words  | 3 Pages

    This paper will outline specific points in Saint Augustine’s Confessions that highlight religious views following the fall of Rome. Though Augustines views on religion may not reflect that of most people in his time period, it still gives valuable insight into how many, namely Neoplatonists,, viewed God and his teachings.

    Read More

  • Free Will Robert Harris

    1261 Words  | 3 Pages

    Philosophers have pondered over the subject of free will for decades and there still hasn’t been a definite answer to the question of free will. What does free will truly mean? Is it just a figure of our imagination? Or is it something that has been around since the creation of men? These are only a small fraction of questions the topic of free will arises. Free will can be broken down into smaller and fewer overcomplicated categories. A normal person like you has free will if our universe revolves around the fact of determinism, if you believe this theory, then you’d be considered a compatibilist. Compatibilism allows us to hold people responsible for their actions. You believe that the reason why

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Free Will

    861 Words  | 2 Pages

    Since the foundation of philosophy, every philosopher has had some opinion on free will in some sense, from Aristotle to Kant. Free will is defined as the agent's action to do something unimpeded, with many other factors going into it Many philosophers ask the question: Do humans really have free will? Or is consciousness a myth and we have no real choice at all? Free will has many components and is fundamental in our day to day lives and it’s time to see if it is really there or not.

    Read More

  • John Calvin on God's Divine Providence

    1369 Words  | 3 Pages

    In John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion he spends a great deal of time expounding his doctrine of God's Divine providence in all of creation. He explains not only how God continually governs the laws of nature, but also how God governs man's actions and intentions to bring about His own Divine Will. Calvin believes that God's providence is so encompassing in creation that even a man's own actions, in many ways, are decreed by God. Because of this belief there arises the question, "Does Calvin leave room for the free will of man?"

    Read More

  • Excessive of Self-restraint in Saint Augustine’s Confessions

    1701 Words  | 4 Pages

    When it comes to renunciation, "no pain, no gain" is what I've slowly, reluctantly, inexorably come to believe. And when Pete opted for scholarly monkhood, I think he was just trying to outsmart his pain. . . . He'd calculated that by considering the physical world "illusory" and burying his nose in metaphysical texts he could go on doing something comfortable--while his ignorance and sufferings and hometown and troublesome family just fell away like so much excess poundage. Obviously l question his calculations: to slough off half a self in hopes of finding a whole one is not my idea of good math.

    Read More

  • A Philosophical Criticism of Augustine and Aquinas

    1533 Words  | 4 Pages

    A Philosophical Criticism of Augustine and Aquinas: The Relationship of Soul and Body The relationship of the human soul and physical body is a topic that has mystified philosophers, scholars, scientists, and mankind as a whole for centuries. Human beings, who are always concerned about their place as individuals in this world, have attempted to determine the precise nature or state of the physical form. They are concerned for their well-being in this earthly environment, as well as their spiritual well-being; and most have been perturbed by the suggestion that they cannot escape the wrongs they have committed while in their physical bodies.

    Read More

  • On Free Choice of the Will

    1445 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Please tell me: isn’t God the cause of evil?” (Augustine, 1). With this question to Augustine of Hippo, Evodius begins a philosophical inquiry into nature of evil. Augustine, recently baptized by Saint Ambrose in Milan, began writing his treatise On Free Choice of the Will in 387 C.E. This work laid down the foundation for the Christian doctrine regarding the will’s role in sinning and salvation. In it, Augustine and his interlocutor investigate God’s existence and his role in creating evil. They attempt not only to understand what evil is, and the possibility of doing evil, but also to ascertain why God would let humans cause evil. Central to the premise of this entire dialogue is the concept of God, as relates to Christianity; what is God, and what traits separate Him from humans? According to Christianity, God is the creator of all things, and God is good; he is omnipotent, transcendent, all-knowing, and atemporal- not subject to change over time- a concept important to the understanding of the differences between this world and the higher, spiritual realm He presides over. God’s being is eidos, the essence which forms the basis of humans. With God defined, the core problem being investigated by Augustine and Evodius becomes clear. Augustine states the key issue that must be reconciled in his inquiry; “we believe that everything that exists comes from the one God, and yet we believe that God is not the cause of sins. What is troubling is that if you admit that sins come from… God, pretty soon you’ll be tracing those sins back to God” (Augustine, 3).

    Read More

  • Saint Augustine

    973 Words  | 2 Pages

    Saint Augustine was born on 354 CE in Tagaste, Africa. His given name was Aurelius Augustinus. His father was Patricius, a pagan who was baptized Christian before he died, and his mother was Monica, a baptized Christian with an influential role in the life of her son. Augustine is regarded as one of the most intelligent Christian theologians

    Read More

  • Augustine's Thoughts on Free Will

    752 Words  | 2 Pages

    One thing that philosophers are great at is asking big questions, usually without providing answers. However, Saint Augustine has a more direct approach to his speculation, often offering a solution to the questions he poses. One such topic he broached in The City of God against the pagans. In this text, Augustine addresses the problem of free will and extends his own viewpoint. Stating that humankind can have free will with an omniscient God, he clarifies by defining foreknowledge, free will, and how they can interact successfully together (Augustine, 198). Throughout his argument, he builds a compelling case with minimal leaps of faith, disregarding, of course, that you must believe in God. He first illustrates the problem of free will, that it is an ongoing questions amongst many philosophers, then provides insight into the difference between fate and foreknowledge. Finally, finishing his argument with a thorough walk-through on how God can know everything, and yet not affect your future decisions.

    Read More

  • Augustine's Faith in the Unseen

    738 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many religious critics have questioned Christianity because of the simple fact of “blind faith”. This meaning faith in the unseen or believing in something that you have never actually seen for yourself. Saint Augustine of Hippo, a very influential Christian theologian, explored this in his essay “Concerning Faith Unseen”. He makes the point that many people refuse to believe in something that they cannot see for themselves. What possesses Christians to believe in God if they have never seen him with there eyes? Our minds are mad to believe the things which cannot be seen and thus it is ok to believe in them.

    Read More

More about Saint Augustine's Deduction that Free Will is a Good Gift from God

Open Document