St. Anselm

Definitions of free will are set forth by the Teacher in his conversation with the student in Anselm's De Libertate Arbitrii. Anselm writes,

The ability to keep uprightness-of-will for the sake of this uprightness itself is the complete definition of freedom of choice.

Free will in this regarded is synonymous with freedom of choice. Free will, in other words, is meaningless unless and until it is exercised in choice.

Anselm is not concerned with the frivolous exercise of an individual's free will but rather with those choices which affect the individual spiritually, those decisions which either align him with God's will or which turn him

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Anselm's philosophy is "predetermined" at least to the extent that he will at no point throw up his hands and admit that he simply does not know the answer to any question which is put to him about free will, divine grace, predestination, and so on. Anselm's philosophy must be understood in the context in which it is presented, and in this way Anselm shows a predisposition toward each of the matters with which he deals and toward the theoretical analysis he performs in order to support his conclusions. For example, there would be little benefit for Anselm to consider that there is no relationship between divine grace and free will, or that there is no cooperation between the two. Remember, Anselm was not merely engaging in a leisurely philosophical pursuit in order to entertain the idea that Christianity was a rational discourse. Rational philosophy was first seen as a threat to Christianity, but Augustine and Aquinas and Anselm used philosophy as another tool to convince others that Christianity was true and should be followed as a way of life. Therefore, it would not do for Anselm to admit that he simply did not know the answer to any questions about God, for this would throw the questioner into doubt about the truth of
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Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page)

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