This is an open-comment theology blog where I will post various theological musings, mostly in sermon or essay form, for others to read and comment on. If what I say here interests you, you may want to check out some of my books. Feel free to criticize, to critique, to comment, but keep comments to the point and respectful. Many of these posts have been published elsewhere, but I wanted them collected and made available to a wider audience.
Thursday, September 12, 2013
An Ontological Argument For Free Will
I've long suspected, and I am not smart enough to flesh this out, that there is some argument to the end that the very ability to conceive of free will is proof that we have it. If I can imagine chaos, I have introduced it into my system. If I've conceived of openness, then I have introduced it into the system of my mind. If freedom doesn't exist, it is not only nonexistent but impossible. St. Anselm thought that the very ability to conceptualize God led one to a proof of his existence. I'm not sure that Anselm was right about this. But my thinking about freedom runs along similar lines.
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