The ideas of liberty of indifference , an autonomous conscience , and subjective rights find their historical roots in the shift from classical Thomism to late-medieval nominalism , later developing through early modern scholasticism . [ 1 , 2 ] While mainstream Catholic theology—anchored by St. Thomas Aquinas—traditionally favored a "freedom for excellence" (where freedom is the power to choose the objective good), a specific lineage of Catholic theologians laid the groundwork for these modern concepts. [ 1 , 2 ] 1. Liberty of Indifference & Nominalism The concept of liberty of indifference ( libertas indifferentiae ) posits that freedom is the absolute, neutral power of the will to choose between contraries (good or evil, acting or not acting), independent of any natural inclination toward the good. [ 1 ] William of Ockham (c. 1287–1347): A Franciscan friar and the father of nominalism, Ockham separated the will from the intellect. He argued that the human will i...
According to the philosopher and scholar John M. Rist in his book Augustine Deformed, the "liberty of indifference" (the idea of the will as a permanent, detached faculty of the soul capable of choosing entirely at hazard or independently of love and the known good) was started by Anselm of Canterbury. While it is commonly associated with later fourteenth-century figures like John Duns Scotus, Rist argues that this philosophical innovation and hypostatization of a "loveless" will was already fully in evidence in the thinking of Anselm. Rist maintains that Saint Augustine himself was wholly innocent of this concept, as Augustine's framework tied free action directly to a Platonic-Christian understanding of love and grace.
According to the philosopher and scholar John M. Rist in his book Augustine Deformed , the "liberty of indifference" (the idea of the will as a permanent, detached faculty of the soul capable of choosing entirely at hazard or independently of love and the known good) was started by Anselm of Canterbury . [ 1 , 2 ] While it is commonly associated with later fourteenth-century figures like John Duns Scotus, Rist argues that this philosophical innovation and hypostatization of a "loveless" will was already fully in evidence in the thinking of Anselm . Rist maintains that Saint Augustine himself was wholly innocent of this concept, as Augustine's framework tied free action directly to a Platonic-Christian understanding of love and grace. [ 1 , 2 ] If you are examining Rist's critique of the Western moral tradition, I can provide more details on: How he believes medieval thinkers misread Augustine . The role John Duns Scotus played in later expanding this idea....