On Free Choice of the Will: Amazon.ca: Saint Bishop of Hippo Augustine: Books

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Despite its relative brevity, On Free Choice of the Will contains almost every distinctive feature of Augustine's philosophy. Read the first page

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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover

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3.5 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars excellent text for considering the impact of Christianity on Platonism and vice-versa, April 3 2010

By

Nathan Andersen "film lover, philosophy profe... (Florida) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: On Free Choice of the Will (Hardcover)

If you were looking for a significant and representative but introductory level medieval Christian philosophy text, you would be hard pressed to find one better than this. When I teach intro to philosophy, I often choose representative texts from the ancient, medieval, early Modern, and roughly contemporary periods. I start with Plato, either the Apology or the Meno or both. Then we read this book. Then Descartes' Meditations. Finally, we read something from Nietzsche, de Beauvoir, or from an early American philosopher (e.g. Thoreau).

This book is an excellent part of the sequence because it introduces free will, and introduces it in a way that is very relevant to Descartes' discussion of will in connection with error. Plato (and the ancients generally) didn't really have a notion of the will: our choices are dictated by our level of understanding. Augustine understood that the Christian notion of sin entails something more radical than mere ignorance -- I must, he thought, be in some real way capable of unmotivated choice if I am to be blamed for my actions.

There are other great bits in this dialogue -- one that it IS a dialogue and so forms a nice segway from Plato's dialogues. Another is its articulation of a proof of existence that prefigures Descartes' cogito and a proof of God that is remarkably similar (though very different in intent) to Descartes' first proof in the meditations.

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4.0 out of 5 stars An Interesting Start, Oct 10 2003

By

Alexander W. Jech (South Bend, IN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Saint Augustine: On Free Choice of the Will (Paperback)

This is one of Augustine's early writings, from soon after his conversion. It records a conversation between himself and Evodius regarding free will. ... Augustine had very little access to Plato, and at this point in his life, probably nothing not quoted by another source. The dialogue is in fact based upon a real conversation, and not just a literary creation (a result of the philosophical community that Augustine lived in for some time after his conversion). However, Augustine edited it and added material (most of Bk. III) before publishing it.

The main things I thought a reader ought to note when reading this short work are (1) This is still the beginning of work on the will - it was not a major issue in philosophy until Augustine, although bits and pieces may be found, e.g. in Cicero; (2) Augustine's style is quite different from what most people are used to, especially since this is a record of an actual conversation; (3) the problem of evil for Augustine is of a different nature then that promulgated in modern times; (4) the only two people who had a paradigmatically free will were Adam and Eve - everyone else has a less than free will and requires God's grace to will effectively, even when they wish to do good.

It is an interesting work but still represents the early thought of Augustine. Those without a Neoplatonic background will find some of its arguments strange. There is no good introduction to Augustine - in my experience, you have to read a great deal of him in order to understand the typical way he thinks and the concepts he relies upon implicitly. Some Plotinus is probably useful.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Hard to read but ....., Jun 1 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Saint Augustine: On Free Choice of the Will (Paperback)

I found the style and content interesting from the point of view that it gives the reader a glimpse into the minds of the church thinkers of the time. The arguments are made by someone who knows what they are supposed to believe and the work ignors some seemingly logical conclusions along the way. The primary purpose seems no to be directed at convincing unbelievers but to enforce the church's position. Many obvious, to a well educated populace, quiestions and opposing arguments are not addressed. To get the full impact of the reasoning we must take the work in context. We must imagine that we only knows what the average person knew at the time. Most education of the time was done by the church and the logic is constructed to convince those who believe in the infalability of the church and fear the consequences of opposing church thinkers. Take the time and energy to read this and you will see the logic parralells much of modern religious writings.

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1.0 out of 5 stars uggg.
Someone recommended this book as the epitome of Augustine's philosophical work. It tries to replicate the style of Plato's dialogues, but its shallow logic, infantile writing, and... Read more

Published on Oct 31 2001 by barnabus fuller