Free Will

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Free Will

Origins of the Notion in Ancient Thought

Ancient Greek and Roman philosophy Ethics and moral philosophy Social and political philosophy

Author: Michael Frede

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Collection: Sather Classical Lectures

Language: English

Published by: University of California Press

Published on: 1st February 2011

Format: LCP-protected ePub

Size: 259 Kb

ISBN: 9780520948372


Where does the notion of free will come from?

How and when did it develop, and what did that development involve? In Michael Frede's radically new account of the history of this idea, the notion of a free will emerged from powerful assumptions about the relation between divine providence, correctness of individual choice, and self-enslavement due to incorrect choice.

Anchoring his discussion in Stoicism

Frede begins with Aristotle--who, he argues, had no notion of a free will--and ends with Augustine. Frede shows that Augustine, far from originating the idea (as is often claimed), derived most of his thinking about it from the Stoicism developed by Epictetus.

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