Free Will article 1. Do we have free will? Explain Yes.

Through the gift of Gods grace and transcendence human beings have free will and are naturally inclined towards what they believe to be good. However, what is good is determined by ones intellect. Therefore the intellect prompts one to act in a way that will achieve what the individuals views to be good. Humans poses the capacity to do evil not because they genuinely seek evil, but rather due to an ill informed or ignorant intellect. For example, in the days of slavery, people believed that blacks were not human and deserved limited rights. As a result the intellect of the white man at that time had been ill informed and caused them to act in evil, despite their belief that they were acting for the good. Humans have the gift of free will as evidenced by the fact that they strive to achieve whatever it is that they believe to be good.

2. Briefly describe the connections between free will and philosophy The discipline of Theology is concerned with the notion of free will as this field strives to uncover the relationship between God and humans; including Gods supernatural grace and providence. Additionally, the study of Metaphysics is effected by the reality of free will as it deals with the concept of causality, change and movement. Lastly, the branch of physiology interests itself in the concept of free will as it is a study of voluntary human action.

3. What is Aristotles position on free will? Aristotles philosophical stance on free will appear to differ slightly from his predecessors Socrates and Plato. Aristotle, believes that humans can voluntarily act against what the intellect instructs. Essentially, humans can chose to go against what they may know and believe to be good. Humans are capable of denying what is good and acting voluntarily to achieve what they know to be evil. With this in mind, Aristotle argues that human actions are contingent and therefore the responsibility of the individual.

4. What is the Catholic position on free will? Catholic doctrine preaches that God has gifted humanity with free will based on His supernatural grace and governmental providence. St. Augustine emphasized the omnipotence of God and believed that God had a store of every single possible human motive at his disposal. In order to maintain free will God had the foreknowledge to know that these various outcomes would be freely consented to. St. Thomas further develops St. Augustines ideas by asserting that free will is a rational appetite and that humans use this gift of freedom to satisfy their innate desire for beatitude.

5. What role does God play? God has gifted humanity with free will through his divine providence and supernatural grace. He has given us all the power to chose our own path, but at the same time, has complete control and knowledge of our future. As God does not exist in our notion of time, He is able to see and control our future.