After wading through pages and pages of weighty arguments about the problem of evil, the sovereignty of God, and human responsibility, I think these were my favorite quotes:Augustine: I believe you also know that many human beings are foolish.Evodius: That's obvious enough.and,Augustine: So tell me this: Do we have a will?Evodius: I don't know.Augustine: Do you want to know?Evodius: I don't know that either.Augustine: Then don't ask me any more questions.:)

Unless I am missing something, I am not sure that Augustine espouses Libertarian freedom in this work the way that the editor thinks he does in the introduction; then again, I am no Augustine scholar and neither am I a philosopher. Someone please correct me?"Augustine rejects the view known as compatibilism that determinism is compatible with human freedom and moral responsibility' and since he is convinced that human beings are in act free and responsible, he must reject determinism as well" (x...

This is one of Augustine's early writings, from soon after his conversion. It records a conversation between himself and Evodius regarding free will. ... Augustine had very little access to Plato, and at this point in his life, probably nothing not quoted by another source. The dialogue is in fact based upon a real conversation, and not just a literary creation (a result of the philosophical community that Augustine lived in for some time after his conversion). However, Augustine edited it and a...

Too often disregarded as an antiquated work of theology masquerading as philosophy, this early Augustinian text is worth reading for his formulation of the Cartesian cogito alone (a formulation that, to be sure, is dealt with much more thoroughly in On the Immortality of the Soul). Also of great interest is his philosophy of mind, particularly the nebulous "inner sense" as divorced from the reasoning faculty (a theory Aquinas will later develop).

This is an early work by Augustine (396), but it contains many seeds and motifs in his later thought. Augustine is wrestling mainly with the a part of the problem of evil: how is God not the author of evil? Along the way he explores what evil is, how the universe is ordered, and how God's foreknowledge does not cause evil. There's a fascinating proof of the existence of God from numbers, and a great section on the end on sin and redemption. In the end, the source of evil in the world is human fr...

De Libero Arbitrio is a Platonic dialogue by Augustine as the sophist with a student named Evodius. There is no other work that puts on display so clearly his total dedication to Platonic Apologetics, reasoning, and Anthropology; the very structure is a Platonic dialogue, and its contents are Platonic reasoning. Here he is attempting to refute the twin heresies of Pelagianism and the Pagan Manicheanism, which taught the heresy of individualistic Soteriological Determinism (a heresy re-born as Un...

If you want a broad introduction to Augustine's philosophy, this book is a good place to start.This book is an extended dialogue between Augustine and Evodius about many areas of Augustine's philosophy and theology. It begins with Evodius' controversial question "Isn't God the cause of evil," and after about 100 pages, Augustine makes his point that the free choice of the will is the cause of evil. However, through that 100 pages he discusses much more than questions about free will and the prob...

For the first foray into this topic in the known history of philosophy, it's fascinating. There are plenty of areas where he gets bogged down in issues and pseudo-arguments that his contemporaries might have found convincing, but don't really make much sense or contain abundant buried assumptions...which describes all philosophical writing, without exception, so far as I know.It's also very refreshing to realize that Augustine believed so strongly in human choice that he wrote this book. From my...

His logics fails on so many ways it's actually painful. Definitely not light-reading but once you sacrifice it few hours to truly understand Augustin's reasoning, you realise that aside his rhetoric tricks he has nothing to offer. If you are not used to it, the sensation that there is something truly imcoprehensibly intelligent going on might enthrall you. If you have already encountered something alike, it could give you quite useful trainning. But if your profesor has forced you for x-time's t...

Excellent book from a great thinker. Augustine will force you to think in ways you've never considered about things you thought you had figured out. Particularly helpful are his thoughts on the origin of evil and how free will cannot be a bad thing, even when God knew man would abuse it. He also explains foreknowledge in a way that refutes fatalism and exonerates God from causing evil simply because he knew it would happen. If you're interested in free will, evil, God's justice, and God's forekn...

Augustine's response to the problem of evil is classic and influential, but not overly illuminating.

The other works of Augustine is too often put in the shadow of his two most well known works. This shorter work by no means deserve this and I sure am glad I found it and took the chance in reading it.I was very intrigued by the introduction of Thomas Williams, and once I began the actual reading I was very much fascinated.The book is a dive into the concept of free will in the form of a dialogue between Augustine and Evodius. This format is golden, since the question we want to ask and dig deep...

This is such a pleasing read. Very socratic in form, Augustine wrestles with the meaning, origin, power, and place of the free will in sin and virtue. Though the Pelagians seized upon certain passages of Augustine’s to validate their views, a careful read on books 2 & 3 shows he makes distinctions between Man as created, Man as fallen, and Man as redeemed. He most certainly argues for the necessity of prevenient grace to help sinners out of their ruin. The most important thing, however, that Aug...

One of the best books I have read regarding free choice and free will. I have found that many people confuse these two concepts. Augustine of Hippo, a North African Bishop, argues that humans were created by God with free will, but this has been corrupted such that without God's intervention, humans do not choose what God would have us choose. Those who believe in the libertarian view of human will should pay close attention both to the end of this dialogue and to his Reconsiderations about his

Augustine writes saying, “How is it that these two propositions are not contradictory and inconsistent: (1) God has foreknowledge of everything in the future; and (2) We sin by the will, not by necessity? For, you say, if God foreknows that someone is going to sin, then it is necessary that he sin.” Unlike every other point before this, he simply asserts that it is heretical to believe God does not foreknow everything. He does not argue this point, try to reason to it, or use verses to back the

Although it's an interesting read, it's not a good resource on philosophy of the free will. It's a good reference to figure out why Christians used to blame poor people for being poor based on their virtue. There's also a lot of blaming clinically depressed people for being depressed. I want to laugh about it, but Augustine was probably serious about his idea that sin and everything comes from free will and if it doesn't you should grin and bear it.I does have interesting arguments on why sin ex...

A great book by St. Augustine, yet I’m still a little weary of many arguments he used in this book. I believe that in other works, such as his magnum opus “De Civitate Dei”, he shifts positions on certain issues. That, or mainly because he didn’t expound enough on previous topics in this work. Not sure. Progress is a good thing. Read more Augustine. “..there was no discussion in these books of the grace of God, by which he so predestines his chosen people that he himself prepares the wills of th...

Augustine tackles the questions of suffering, free will and the omniscience of God in a work that is structured as a dialogue between Augustine and Evodius, a friend. It's a fascinating work with a lot of really interesting ideas; it's a bit long and a bit labored right near the end when Evodius drops out and Augustine just goes off on a lengthy monologue. The conversational nature of the bulk of the work helped it flow a little better, I think. Still, I really enjoyed it.

It's amazing how many of Augustine's major themes appear in this little book. And, correspondingly, how dense the reading is! I found the translation very readable, however. I don't think this book says all that faithful theology must say about the problem of evil; but (as always, perhaps?) the theologian ignores Augustine to their own peril.

In short:Book One: Pretty good.Book Two: (for me) Pretty good, but I'm used to most of its questions and answers.Book Three: Amazing start, but after some pages, it'll look more like Book One.It's, obviously, a philosophical gem in an age when the truth isn't appreciated as it should be.

Deceptively dense for how short it is! Sometimes drifts into opinion, but overall a good sketch of Augustine's thoughts on...everything. I definitely underlined some powerful, pithy phrases that I'll try to hold on to.

It might not be the most best philosophy which can stand any argument, but most definitely it is a piece of really hard and good work ( sometimes a bit amusing) which gives you a glimpse into the basics of christian theology and what it is based on.

Great book, incredibly difficult to read. Augustine is essentially talking to you (almost like an interview in this book). Augustine’s books are harder reads, but some of the most thought provoking and convicting books I’ve read.

This was confusing as heck but I made it through! 5 stars to me, 3 to Augustine because ya didn't quite convince me, buddy.

A great place to start for those interested in theology. Helps with the question of, "How could evil exist if God is truly good?"

This was worth painstakingly working through.

Not an easy slog, but when you dig in some interesting thoughts on an age-old question. Not for the faint of heart or those with short attention spans.

Augustine and I just differ.

read this in college, amazing arguments.

Everyone should read this. I just... wow. The first thing I did when I finished the book was flip to the front and start reading again! The introduction is masterfully done