The concept of freedom in the thought of St. Augustine

Abstract

The article discusses St. Augustine’s arguments for the existence of free will and its theological contexts in relation to human nature. The bishop of Hippo refers to the philosophical works of Plato and Plotinus as well as texts from the New Testament, and in justifying the existence of free will points to the direct consciousness of man. Augustine was deeply convinced that this intrinsic action is necessary for valuation and therefore for moral judgment resulting from the choice between good and evil. Without free will, man would not be himself, it is the condition of humanity and the foundation of responsibility. In his writings, the author distinguished between the freedom from autonomy and self-determination; independent acts of will that are an ontological feature of human being. He believed that the ultimate source of man’s inner freedom is God. Augustine was also aware that human freedom is imperfect, which manifests itself in ethical dilemmas related to decision-making. The human freedom is never absolute, as a result of man’s fallen nature, which God has bestowed with the grace of goodness in the form of the gift of free will. Among other things, this accounted for Augustine’s rejection of the concept of grace proposed by Pelagius, who denied its supernatural character claiming that it is given according to merit. Many scholars have attempted to interpret the issue of how grace affects the human will. Their statements seem to support the conclusion in light of which freedom of the will is not abrogated due to the action of grace.