Reading On Free Will and On Free Choice is a wonderful reminder of how the early Church Fathers tackled and impressively worked through philosophical and theological arguments that have been redressed today as New Atheist talking points — which, through modern eyes, seemed to be portrayed as revolutionary, as if, well, nobody had already surgically dissected and well refuted the same arguments in the ancient world.
That does not mean that modern philosophers, or New Atheists who have studied philosophy, have no stake in the conversation about the ‘big questions’ in life; just that much of the chatter on social media, thought-experiment discussions with friends while having a coffee or beer, and arguments that modern skeptics present are often times old hat. When someone in modern day asks — for the eight trillionth time — “Why would God allow evil?”, it makes one want to say, “Read St. Augustine and get back with me in the morning.”
Not to say that there is no room to criticize Augustine’s argument for freewill as the answer to the problem of evil, though he does make a quite solid case for why God did not create evil and why he allows it. Enter Evodius, who Is the poster figure for questions that still, unfortunately, linger to this day: Did God create evil? Why do humans commit evil acts in the first place? (Augustine 397, 398). And if humans do in fact have free will, and freewill can lead to sin, then what causes the will? (Augustine 403).
Now, enter Augustine. As is necessary when referring to ‘God’ per Christian belief, God is goodness. A staple definition of goodness is moral perfection in word, thought, and deed. Because God, then, is goodness, he is, and also manifests, moral perfection in word, thought, and deed. Which is why it is always important to get definitions in order before moving to a subject such as free will. How do we first define God? In the Christian sense, the definition is established. From there, the topic of free will must be addressed independently of God’s nature. Augustine does so by first establishing God as one who punishes evil deeds. Meaning that the deeds must be done by choice before God can adjudicate them (397).
Yet the above is not necessarily the best answer. Augustine understands Evodius’ dilemma that if God is the creator of souls, then why is he not even partially responsible for the sins that souls commit? Further, why does God allow free will in the first place? Sounds like a setup for failure, no? Augustine’s answer contains a crucial point that drives the conversation in a much better direction: “If man is good, and if he would not act rightly except by willing to do so, he ought to have free will because without it he would not be able to act rightly” (398, 399).
But the argument does not end there. Evodius then asks why even have a free will that can lead to sin? Augustine points out that free will must be a good thing from God. After all, If God is goodness, and the same God gave free will, then it was given for a productive reason (399, 400). In other words, and as Augustine also points out, free will allows humans to distinguish good from evil. It allows people to find paths to maximize goodness, to live life abundantly in a healthy way, and have the means to make choices that lead to a greater good. Augustine puts it this way: “An action would be neither sinful nor righteous unless it were done voluntarily (399).
Still, what is behind the will? Putting aside that Augustine sounds a bit perturbed about the question (and which, per the already overused expression in modern day, is known as “going down a rabbit hole”), he makes yet another excellent point by explaining why ‘will’ is a will in the first place. 1 Tim 6:10 is a strong lead-in to the argument: It is the will to do evil that makes the will itself evil. The cause is either just or unjust. And the intention is purposeful. Namely, if people willingly choose to live in ignorance, or they refuse to seek out the higher truths they were born to discover and learn, then they themselves are the ‘problem of evil’ (402, 403). Or as Augustine sums up well, later in the conversation: If the soul “neglects to advance by means of good studies and piety,” it justly falls into a graver state of ignorance and struggle” (407).
Keeping that in mind, earlier thoughts by Plato and Aristotle bolster the case for free will even more. Think about it: If we are capable of striving to be good, to live a virtuous life, to be not just the lyre player but the ‘good’ lyre player, then free will can also be likened to making choices that can maximize human potential and achieve greatness in a virtuous way. Evil shows what it means to waste potential or live in pride. Goodness ‘frees’ the free will.
Works Cited
On Free Will. Augustine. Edited by Pojman, Louis, and Lewis Vaughn, Classics of Philosophy. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011.