1. Views that deny humans have freedom DETERMINISM: PHYSICAL, RELIGIOUS & SOCIAL

2. Catholics believe  Freedom is a characteristic we have because we are human.  We truly use our freedom when we act towards our end as humans, i.e., what makes us the best we can be as humans.

3. Three groups of thinking that deny human freedom: DETERMINISM  Naturalism  A physical determinism  Religious Determinism  God “makes us act”  Social Determinism  Our “society” makes us act

4. Naturalism  Coined by G.E. Moore  Main ideas:  The universe is a material system  Everything follows physical, biological processes of causes & effects  Science / Empirical evidence gives us what is true

5. You have no freedom because:  Your DNA controls:  Who you are  What you do  Therefore, you are not free, your freedom is only a delusion  PROBLEM?  How can you be responsible if you have no choice?

6. Catholicism teaches:  We have free will  We are spiritual beings somehow connected with our bodies  Naturalism isn’t a good enough explanation.

7. Catholicism does not deny  The discoveries of science  Connections between our spiritual and physical aspects

8. WE believe that a human person is  A being that is at the same time physical and spiritual  Soul is the word we use to signify our “spiritual principle”

9. Religious Determinism  Also known as PREDESTINATION  God “predetermined” the course of  History  Each person

10. Providence  A word used to refer to God’s influence on:  The events of history  Our actions

11. Who suggested Predestination?  A French Reformer,  John Calvin  Catholic Teaching disagrees with predestination:  Human freedom does not conflict with God’s providence

12. Puritans  A branch off of Calvinism  Believed:  Because of sin, humans are totally depraved and deserve damnation  People are cut off from God, and helpless to save themselves  God doesn’t want to save all

13. Catholicism teaches  We are free because of God’s providence  Salvation: God reaches out to us, and that make possible our cooperation to reach back

14. St. Augustine  1 st great theologian to write about free will & how it is connected to God’s grace  He used to be a Manichaean  No free will  Body & matter are evil  Spirit & soul are good

15. Augustine also taught against:  The teachings of Pelagius, i.e., PELAGIANISM  Free will has total power  Humans can determine their salvation without God

16. Social Determinism  Outside forces like:  Parents  Culture  Traumatic experiences  One’s history, social background  Determine one’s behaviour

17. Sigmund Freud  Your unconscious determines your behaviour  Repressed memories & desires lead to unconscious impulses