Will (philosophy) - Medieval European Philosophy

Medieval European Philosophy

Inspired by Islamic philosophers Avicenna and Averroes, Aristotelian philosophy became part of a standard approach to all legal and ethical discussion in Europe by the time of Thomas Aquinas. His philosophy can be seen as a synthesis of Aristotle and early Christian doctrine as formulated by Boethius and Augustine of Hippo, although sources such as Maimonides and Plato and the aforementioned Muslim scholars are also cited.

With the use of Scholasticism, Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologica makes a structured treatment of the concept of will. A very simple representation of this treatment may look like this:

• Does the will desire nothing? (No.)
• Does it desire all things of necessity, whatever it desires? (No.)
• Is it a higher power than the intellect? (No.)
• Does the will move the intellect? (Yes.)
• Is the will divided into irascible and concupiscible? (No.)

This is related to the following points on free will:

• Does man have free-will? (Yes.)
• What is free-will--a power, an act, or a habit? (A power.)
• If it is a power, is it appetitive or cognitive? (Appetitive.)
• If it is appetitive, is it the same power as the will, or distinct? (The same, with contingencies).