Descartes on Divine Providence and Human Freedom

Ragland, C. P.

doi:10.1515/agph.2005.87.2.159

Cited by 35 publications

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“…For excellent discussions, which take up the textual evidence both for and against, but in the end point in the direction of the position that I am inclined to accept, see, e.g., Alanen (2003: chap. 7), Ragland (2005), and Shapiro (2008). 29 This account, it may be noticed, also fits quite well with Descartes's conception of the vice that he calls lâcheté, which is manifested by people who are not concerned with first-order goods enough to first form the best judgments that they are capable of about these things, and then choose to act accordingly.…”

Section: Descartes's Ethical Perfectionism: Consequentialist and Egoimentioning

confidence: 99%

Descartes as an Ethical Perfectionist

Svensson

2020

Journal of Modern Philosophy

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My main concern in this paper is to develop and defend an account of why we ought to devote our lives to virtue-of the ground or reason for why we ought to do so-according to René Descartes. On my account, the answer is that we thereby, and indeed only thereby, do everything in our power to promote our own degree of intrinsic perfection or goodness (Descartes uses these terms interchangeably). Descartes's moral philosophy, as I understand it, thus constitutes a form of ethical perfectionism. While I am not the first to interpret Descartes as an ethical perfectionist, there is as of yet no detailed account in the literature of what his particular form of ethical perfectionism would then entail. This is something that I hope to remedy here.

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Section: Descartes's Ethical Perfectionism: Consequentialist and Egoimentioning

confidence: 99%

Descartes as an Ethical Perfectionist

Svensson

2020

Journal of Modern Philosophy

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“…However, it is not clear how this "middle knowledge" solution to the problem of freedom and providence can work for Descartes. For he insists that God freely created the "eternal truths" ( AT 1:145/ CSMK 22-3; AT 4:118-19/CSMK 235; AT 7:431-3/ CSM 2:291-2), which would include truths about what possible creatures would freely choose (Ragland 2005). This would seem to make God ultimately responsible for our errors, even if God does not directly cause them.…”

Section: Freedom Laws Of Nature and Providencementioning

confidence: 99%

The Routledge Companion to Free Will

Timpe

Griffith

Levy³

2016

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Questions concerning free will are intertwined with issues in almost every area of philosophy, from metaphysics to mind to moral philosophy, and are also informed by work in different areas of science (principally physics, neuroscience and social psychology). Free will is also a perennial concern of serious thinkers, in theology and in non-western traditions as much as in contemporary academic philosophy. Because free will can be approached from so many different perspectives and has implications for so many debates, a comprehensive survey needs to encompass an enormous range of approaches. This book is the fi rst to draw together leading experts on every aspect of the debate, from those who are central to the current philosophical debate, to non-western perspectives, scientifi c contributions, and the rich history of the debate. Its 61 chapters, commissioned especially for this volume from the world's leading researchers, are framed by a General Introduction and brief section introductions for each of the six sections. A list of References, an annotated Further Reading list, and a short list of Related Topics are included at the end of each chapter.Kevin Timpe holds the W. H. Jellema Chair in Christian Philosophy at Calvin College. He has published a number of books on free will, including

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“…For discussion of Descartes's view of causation-both physical and mental-see Schmaltz (2008), 5 Chapters 2-4. For discussion of Descartes's view of the relationship between human freedom and divine providence, see Wee (2006Wee ( , 2014, Cunning (2010), and Ragland (2005Ragland ( , 2016, among others. deed, Descartes identifies the will with the faculty of free choice: all acts of will are free, and all free acts are acts of will-acting freely is "the essence of will" (CSM II, 117).…”

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confidence: 99%

Descartes and the Possibility of Enlightened Freedom

Fogal¹

2017

Res Phil.

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Descartes on Divine Providence and Human Freedom

Cited by 35 publications

References 0 publications

Descartes as an Ethical Perfectionist

Descartes as an Ethical Perfectionist

The Routledge Companion to Free Will

Descartes and the Possibility of Enlightened Freedom

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