(in Polish) Free Will. The History of an Idea from Antiquity to Middle Ages 3800-FWHI26-M
The lectures aim to present the most significant moments in the history of the notion of free will in
classical Western philosophical thought. Rather than an overview of the various meanings of a
particular term – such as the liberum arbitrium – the course offers an overview of the key issues
involved in the concept of freedom. First, the idea of freedom as such should be problematised.
Indeed, at least since the Hellenistic times, ancient philosophers understood freedom in a couple of
different ways. The different conceptions of freedom involve such fundamental problems as
contingency and necessity or the relationship between freedom and the possibility to choose among
different alternatives. Second, the lectures focus on the ancient origins of the notion of free will as
human power. Particular attention is given to the relationship between wanting and rationality on
the one hand and, on the other hand, between wanting and non-rational desires. In this context, the
problem of acrasia (the weakness of the will) should be examined as well. Starting from ancient
Stoicism and Neoplatonism, the problem of the freedom of God is taken to account. Within the
Augustinian tradition, the problem of whether God wills evil is an important one, not only from a
strictly theological perspective but also for the understanding of the human will. The course also
discusses some typically medieval issues, such as the second-order will or the conditional will, and
some medieval ideas on the problems discussed since antiquity, such as the simultaneous presence
of different desires in the same person. The problem of responsibility for one’s choices will be
touched upon. Finally, the course includes an overview of the two contrasting positions, voluntarism
and rationalism, in two main contexts: the Islamic medieval theology (the Muʿtazilites and al-Ashʿarī)
and the late 13th-century Latin thought (Thomas Aquinas and Duns Scotus).
Course coordinators
Type of course
Learning outcomes
Acquired knowledge:
K_W04, the student knows and understands the basic and advanced English philosophical
terminology related to the problem of free will at the level C1 CEFR
K_W05 the student knows and understands the main currents of thought and the most important
achievements within the discussed scope of the history of ideas
K_W07 the student has extensive knowledge of the views of selected philosophical authors and the
current state of research on these authors
K_W09 the student thoroughly understands the nature of the concepts of free will and freedom and
the historical variability of its meanings
K_W11 the student understands the general relationship between the formation of philosophical ideas
and changes in culture and society
For PhD students:
WG_01 PhD student has knowledge, at a level enabling the revision of existing paradigms, of the
global scholarly output relevant to philosophy—covering theoretical foundations, general issues, and
selected specific topics—within the field of freedom and free will.
Acquired skills:
K_U01 the student can independently interpret a philosophical text, comment on it and confront
theses from various texts in a creative and innovative way
K_U02 the student has the ability to determine the degree of importance of theses within the
discussed problem or argumentation
K_U03 the student has the ability to analyse complex philosophical arguments, identify their
foundations and assumptions, establish logical and argumentative relationships between theses
K_U09 the student has the ability to construct and creatively reconstruct arguments from the
perspective of various philosophical positions, taking into account the types of argumentation specific
to each of them and noticing the convergences and differences between them.
For PhD students:
UK_01 PhD student is able to communicate on specialist topics (the problem of free will) at a level
that enables active participation in the international scholarly community within the humanities.
UK_05 The doctoral student is able to use a foreign language (English) at CEFR level B2, employing
specialist terminology related to free will, at a level that enables participation in the international
academic and professional environment.
Acquired social competences:
K_K01 the student is ready to identify his/her knowledge and skills
K_K05 the student is ready to actively participate in social and cultural life, is interested in
philosophical concepts in connection with other parts of cultural and social life
K_K06: the student is ready to actively participate in activities aimed at preserving the philosophical
heritage and using it to understand social and cultural events.
For PhD students:
KK_01 PhD student is prepared to undertake an independent and critical evaluation of scholarly work
within history of philosophy (P8S_KK).
Assessment criteria
Active attendance during classes. A written examination consisting of the interpretation of short text
excerpts (selected from those discussed in class), based on questions relating to those texts. The
assessment includes an oral discussion of the written work with the lecturer. Assessment criteria: in-
depth understanding of the problem of free will, including its historical variability; acquaintance with
theories maintained by the discussed authors; understanding the discussed philosophical texts; the
ability to construct and creatively reconstruct arguments from the perspective of various philosophical
positions, taking into account the types of argumentation specific to each of them and recognizing the
similarities and differences between them; the ability to independently deepen one’s knowledge in the
discussed field.
Allowed number of absences: 2
Bibliography
Teksty źródłowe. Będziemy czytać liczne fragmenty różnych dzieł, m.in./
Source texts. We will read passages from many works, including:
Plotinus, Ennead VI, 8, trans. A.H. Armstrong, Cambridge 1988.
Augustine, On the Trinity X, 11-12, trans. A.W. Haddan, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series,
Vol. 3., Buffalo, NY 1887, rev. and ed. for New Advent by K. Knight,
<http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/130110.htm>.
Anselm of Canterbury, Truth, Freedom, and Evil. Three Philosophical Dialogues, ed. and trans. J.
Hopkins and H. Richardson, New York 1967.
Stephen Langton, Quaestiones theologiae III, ed. M. Bieniak – W. Wciórka, Oxford 2021-2022.
Thomas Aquinas, On Evil, trans. R. Regan, ed. B. Davies, New York: Oxford University Press 2003.
John Duns Scotus, Contingency and Freedom. Lectura I, 39, trans. A. Vos et al., Dordrecht 1994.
Opracowania/ Studies:
A. Kenny, Aristotle's Theory of the Will, Duckworth, London 1979.
J. Purinton, “Epicurus on ‘Free Volition’ and the Atomic Swerve”, Phronesis, 44.4 (1999), 253–299.
B. Collette-Dučić, “Plotinus on Founding Freedom in Ennead VI.8[39]”, in The Routledge Handbook of
Neoplatonism, P. Remes and S. Slaveva-Griffith (eds.), New York 2014.
T. O’Keefe, “Ancient Theories of Freedom and Determinism”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy (Spring 2021 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL =
<https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2021/entries/freedom-ancient/>.
G. Bonner, Freedom and Necessity: St. Augustine's Teaching on Divine Power and Human Freedom,
CUA Press, 2007
P. Adamson, Philosophy in the Islamic World, Oxford University Press, 2016.
R. Saarinen, Weakness of the Will in Medieval Thought. From Augustine to Buridan, Helsinki 1993.
D.M. Gallagher, “Thomas Aquinas on the Will as Rational Appetite”, Journal of the History of
Philosophy, 29.4 (1991), 559-584.