A Review of Edwards's "Inquiry into the Freedom of the Will"Tappan, Henry Philip
Religion
A Review of Edwards's "Inquiry into the Freedom of the Will"
Tappan, Henry Philip
Edwards, Jonathan, 1703-1758. Freedom of the will; Free will and determinism
Hence a man is _naturally unable_ to do anything when there is no
established connexion between volition and that thing. A man is
naturally unable to push a mountain from its seat. He has no _liberty_
to move his arm when it is bound.
_Moral inability_ is metaphysical or philosophical inability.
Philosophical inability in general refers to the impossibility of a
certain effect for the want of a cause, or an adequate cause. Thus there
is a philosophical inability of transmuting metal; or of restoring the
decay of old age to the freshness and vigour of youth, because we have
no cause by which such effects can be produced. There is a philosophical
inability also, to pry up a rock of a hundred tons weight with a pine
lath, and by the hand of a single man, because we have not an adequate
cause. _Moral inability_ relates to the connexion between motives and
volitions in distinction from natural ability, which relates to the
connexion between volitions and actions consequent upon them: but the
term moral as we have seen, does not characterize the nature of the
_connexion_,--it only expresses the _quality_ of _terms connected_.
Hence _moral_ inability, as philosophical inability, is the
impossibility of a certain volition or choice for the want of a motive
or cause, or an adequate motive. Thus there is a moral philosophical
inability of Paul denying Jesus Christ, for there is plainly no motive
or cause to produce a volition to such an act. There is a moral
philosophical inability also, of a man selling an estate for fifty
dollars which is worth fifty thousand, because the motive is not
adequate to produce a volition to such an act.
Philosophical necessity and inability are absolute in respect of us,
because beyond the sphere of our volition.
XIII. Praiseworthiness or virtue, blameworthiness or guilt, apply only
to volitions. This indeed is not formally brought out in the part of
Edwards's work we have been examining. His discussion of it will be
found in part IV. sec. I. But as it is necessary to a complete view of
his system, we introduce it here.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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