Peter Furlong - Böcker

Peter Furlong presents the first systematic study of Thomas Aquinas's account of moral responsibility.Aquinas on Moral Responsibility explores how Aquinas understands what it means to be morally responsible. Rather than focusing narrowly on freedom of the will alone, Furlong reconstructs Aquinas's view by examining the practices through which we hold each other responsible, such as praise and blame or reward and punishment. These practices, he argues, are central to understanding what it means to be morally responsible in light of one's actions.The book opens by clarifying Aquinas's conception of moral responsibility itself before asking what sort of control must someone possess over their actions in order to be responsible for them. Furlong argues that Aquinas adopts a version of the Principle of Alternative Possibilities, in which agents are responsible for their actions only if they could have done otherwise. He also defends an incompatibilist interpretation of Aquinas, arguing that moral responsibility is incompatible with determinism.Furlong also considers, through Aquinas, the ways in which a theory of moral responsibility must take into account ignorance, our settled character, luck, and passions. The result is a unified and carefully argued interpretation of Aquinas's enduring contributions to debates about freedom and moral responsibility.

This volume unites established authors and rising young voices in philosophical theology and philosophy of religion to offer the single most wide-ranging examination of theological determinism-in terms of both authors represented and issues investigated-published to date. Fifteen contributors present discussions about theological (or divine) determinism, the view that God determines everything that occurs in the world. Some authors provide arguments in favor of this position, while others provide considerations against it. Many contributors investigate the relationship between theological determinism and other philosophical issues (the principle of sufficient reason; the compatibility of determinism and free will; moral luck), theological doctrines (creation ex nihilo; divine forgiveness; the inevitability of sin; the unity of Christ's will with God's), or moral attitudes and practices (trusting God; resenting the ill-will of others; resisting evil). This book is essential reading for all those interested in the relationship between theological determinism and philosophical thought.