Aristotle: The Power of Volition
A. All actions have consequences
- Apart from will, the imperative quality of a judgment of practical intellect is
meaningless.
- Reason can legislate, but only through will can its legislation be translated into
action.
- Practical intellect guides the will by enlightening it. Will, in fact, is to be understood
wholly in terms of intellect. Will is linked to the intellect. This is obvious from the way
in which will is rationally denominated.
The will of humanity is an instrument of free choice. It is within the power of everyone
to be good or bad, worthy or worthless This is borne out by:
- our inner awareness of an aptitude to do right or wrong;
- the common testimony of all human beings;
- the rewards and penalties by rulers; and
- delivering of praise and blame
Moral acts, which are always particular acts, are in our power and we are responsible for
them. Character or habit is no excuse for immoral conduct.
Example : Attending class is a student's responsibility. If a student cuts class, then
he or she is responsible for the consequences of his or her actions such as an
accident or low grades. The student may regret what he or she had done, but all
the regrets in the world will not call it back.
For Aristotle, a human being is rational (based on facts or reason and not by emotion).
Reason is a divine characteristic. Humans have the spark of the divine. If there were no
intellect, there would be no will. Our will is an instrument of free choice. Reason, will, and
action drives each other.
The power of the mind to direct one's actions and behavior towards a desired end or
goal.
St. Thomas Aquinas: Love is Freedom
- Of all creatures of God, human beings have the unique power to change
themselves and the things around them for the better. He claimed, we are moral
agents.
- We are both the spiritual and body elements. Indeed, the unity between both the
spiritual and material elements helps us to understand our complexity separating
us from animals.
- We have a conscience, to be "good" or "evil" becomes an exercise of moral
responsibility.
- Change cannot be accomplished by human beings alone but with the cooperation
from God. Since there is an infinite gap between humanity and God, only God can
bridge this gap through His power.
- Perfection by participation is a union of humanity with God. Change should
promote not just the individual advantage but the welfare of the community.
- A human being therefore, has a supernatural transcendental destiny. This means
that he can rise above his ordinary being or self to the highest being or self.
- A human being has to develop and perfect himself by doing his daily tasks.
Fourfold classifications of law
● Eternal Law - all law created by God. This law contains natural law and divine law.
As human law is created as a derivation of natural law, it is also created by God.
● Natural Law - The natural law comprises those precepts of the eternal law that
govern the behavior of beings possessing reason and free will. The first precept of
the natural law, according to Aquinas, is the somewhat vacuous imperative to do
good and avoid evil.
● Human Law - For Aquinas does indeed say both that a human being is a human
body, namely, a rational, sensitive, living body, and that a human being consists of
a soul and a body.
● Divine Law - Divine law is derived from eternal law as it appears historically to
humans, especially through revelation, when it appears to human beings as divine
commands. Divine law is divided into the Old Law and the New Law
The ability to act in accordance with our nature as rational creatures, and to choose
the good freely
Jean Paul Sartre: Individual Freedom
- Sartre believed in the essential freedom of individuals, and he also believed that as
free beings, people are responsible for all elements of themselves, their
consciousness, and their actions. That is, with total freedom comes total
responsibility.
- The person is provided with a supreme opportunity to give significance to one's life.
In the course of giving meaning to one's life, one fills the world with meaning.
- Freedom is, therefore, the very core of authentic existence. Authentic existence IS
determined only by the actions of the individual, in absolute freedom and
responsibility and which therefore is the character of true creation.
- On the other hand, the human person who tries to escape obligations and strives to
be en-soi (i.e., excuses such as "I was born this way" or "I grew up in a bad
environment") is acting on bad faith (mauvaise foi).
- Sartre emphasizes the importance of free individual choice, regardless of the
power of other people to influence and coerce our desires, beliefs, and
decisions. To be human, to be conscious, is to be free to imagine, free to choose,
and be responsible for one's life.
He believed that individuals are born with absolute freedom and are responsible for all
of their actions.
