A free will : origins of the notion in ancient thought

Bibliographic Information

A free will : origins of the notion in ancient thought

by Michael Frede ; edited by A.A. Long ; with a foreword by David Sedley

(Sather classical lectures, v. 68)(The Joan Palevsky imprint in classical literature)

University of California Press, c2011

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Includes bibliographical references and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

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.

Table of Contents

Foreword Editor's Preface Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 2. Aristotle on Choice without a Will Chapter 3. The Emergence of a Notion of Will in Stoicism Chapter 4. Later Platonist and Peripatetic Contributions Chapter 5. The Emergence of a Notion of a Free Will in Stoicism Chapter 6. Platonist and Peripatetic Criticisms and Responses Chapter 7. An Early Christian View on a Free Will: Origen Chapter 8. Reactions to the Stoic Notion of a Free Will: Plotinus Chapter 9. Augustine: A Radically New Notion of a Free Will? Chapter 10. Conclusion Abbreviations Notes Bibliography Index

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