Where does the notion of free will come from? How and when did it develop, and what did that development involve? In Michael Frede's radically new account of the history of this idea, the notion of a free will emerged from powerful assumptions about the relation between divine providence, correctness of individual choice, and self-enslavement due to incorrect choice. Anchoring his discussion in Stoicism, Frede begins with Aristotle - who, he argues, had no notion of a free will - and ends with Augustine. Frede shows that Augustine, far from originating the idea (as is often claimed), derived most of his thinking about it from the Stoicism developed by Epictetus.
- ISBN10 0520268482
- ISBN13 9780520268487
- Publish Date 1 February 2011 (first published 1 January 2011)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Imprint University of California Press
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 224
- Language English