2007/08/14 by Jesse Couenhoven · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · #Augustinian Studies and Theology #Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies #Medieval Philosophy and Theology #Theodicy #Philosophy #Free will #Compatibilism #Original sin #Epistemology #Theology
paper · doi:10.1017/s0034412507009018
openalex publication_date 2007/08/14 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
Abstract Augustine is commonly considered the greatest early proponent of what we call the free-will defence, but this idea is deeply misleading, as Augustine grew increasingly dissatisfied with the view from an early point in his career, and his later explorations of the implications of his doctrines of sin and grace led him to reject free-will theodicies altogether. As a compatibilist, however, he continued to reject the idea that God is responsible for the advent of evil. His alternative was his often misunderstood claim that the primal sin had a ‘deficient’ cause, together with a version of what Alvin Plantinga has nominated the ‘ felix culpa ’ approach. Thus, Augustine was actually the free-will defence's first major Christian detractor, and by the end of his career he had become its greatest critic.