FREE WILL

by those who coined the term
Translated as free will, the Latin phrase liber arbiter (coined by early European philosophers) literally means independent arbitrator, where the quality of arbitrator refers to human beings' faculty to decide on the worth of anything, whereas that of independent refers to their capacity of self-objectivation. Regarded as Man's ability to cause his own course of actions by his own means, free will referrs to the control of instinctual and emotional behavior through reason.

The present inquiry reviews in brief all the philosophical ideas (in metaphysics, epistemology and ethics) relevant to the problem of liber arbiter put forth by ancient European thinkers. Scroll down the list in the side bar and check the concise articles on each philosopher’s view on free will.

Anicius Manlinus Severinus Boethius (475 - 526)

For Boethius, Neoplatonist universals are only objects of rational minds. A rational nature possesses free will as its acts of volition cannot belong to physical causal chains. Reason allows for a higher degree of freedom (defined as Man's capability of causing his own course of actions by his own means). The more blinded by ignorance or obssessed with vicious passions, the more enslaved; conversely, the more rational, the more free.

Proclus Lycaeus (412 - 485)

Proclus holds the One (Neoplatonist unifying divine principle beyond being and thought) as the origin of the entire existence. The One fosters the Intellect situated outside time, and it is due to this divine Mind that multiplicity is possible in both thought and existence. Processuality arises with the Intellect's temporal product, the Soul, whose individual occurrences tend to be overpowered by the material world. Man will attain freedom only insomuch as he can, through reason, liberate his soul from the domination of bodily passions.

Aurelius Augustinus (354-430)

For Augustinus, God is the immutable origin of the rationally hierarchical universe, in which there is a fundamental contrast between the intelligible and the sensible. The world of the sense includes only non-shareable transitory objects whereas the intelligible realm contains public, eternal realities. Man’s free will is defined as the rational choice between perishable objects and immutable ones. Augustinus shows that the compatibility of divine predestination (as well as foreknowledge) and freedom of will derives from Man’s responsibility for his choices.

Plotinus (204 – 270)

Founder of Neoplatonism, Plotinus states that the core of all existence is the indefinable One, whose Intellect makes the primal principle of the universe. The creative action of this divine Mind fosters the Soul, the place where the world takes objective shape. Individual souls must employ their power of conscious will in order to free themselves from the limits of their material reliance and contemplate the higher order of reality. Plotinus is the first thinker to put forth the idea that human happiness is independent of the physical world and can only be attained within consciousness due to Man’s faculty of reason.

Epictetus (55 – 135)

Man is free to manage his existence by accepting what is divinely predetermined and making appropriate choices when it comes to his own proceedings. Epictetus states that personal fulfillment depends largely on the individual character. The character can become a decisive factor in being in charge of one’s life through assiduous preparation as to how to control one’s perceptions, impulses to act (or not to act) and irrational drives.

Seneca (4 BC – AD 65)

"A well governed appetite is the greater part of liberty," this theoretician of free will points out. Seneca insists that natural events should be explained through natural laws. Although the order of things is divinely predetermined, the soul (which is corporeal, monadic and rational) allows knowledge to influence proceeding. Inner impulses will lead to action in the absence of external impediments. Man manifests freedom of will in that he can control his actions by means of judgment and perform voluntary, virtuous deeds.