Free Will vs. Determinism in Analyzing Great Works of Literature Throughout History
Throughout our year of studying and analyzing great works of literature throughout history, the theme of free will and its outside limitations has been a consistent contrast. However, this debate is not just seen in our classroom. Philosophers often battle with the question of free will and how much control we truly have over our fate and lives on the physical earth. Some believe that as humans, we have unlimited free will which is needed in order to make morally right and genuine life choices.
In contrast, others believe that a higher, superior figure reigning above us controls our fate and the amount of free will given to us on earth. Throughout this paper, the concept of free will granted by God will be interpreted through a scholarly lens. John Milton, John Locke, and Dante Alighieri are leading scholars who share the similar opinion that God granted man free will to make their own decisions to either love or turn against God.
In Milton's epic poem, Paradise Lost, he uses the fall of Adam and Eve to verify God's gift to mankind of free will and freedom of choice. God's superior power allows him to see the past, present, and future on earth. With that being said, he is aware of mankind's future fall from Grace but allows them to continue on because of the gift of free will. "Whose fault? Whose but his own? Ingrate, he had of me all he could have; I made him just and right, sufficient to have stood through free to fall" (Milton 83). God himself created mankind in his imagine and likeness, with strength to stand above evil and temptations. However, he also entrusted them with enough room to make their own choices between good and evil through the gift of free will.
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In Milton's Paradise Lost, God treats Satan in a similar manor. Satan is clearly the strongest form of evil presence on earth, but God does not vanish him nor intervene in his plan to corrupt mankind. Even though the God of Paradise Lost allows Satan to tempt his creation, and places the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden that does not mean Milton is suggesting that God advocates evil. God does not wish to destroy his own creation, but he wants mankind to be capable of sincere love.
By giving his people a choice they have the choice to love or turn away from God. So, when they choose God over temptation, it is real and genuine. Without this choice, mankind would merely be the puppets to God's wishes, lacking personal emotions and life lessons. "Not free, what proof could they have given sincere of true allegiance, constant faith, or love..." (Milton 83). Milton believes, as seen through his epic poem, that in order to become a true faithful follower, you must be aware of the temptation and choice of wickedness available to us.
Similar to Milton, Locke, an Enlightenment philosopher, also believes that through God's authority, mankind has equal freedoms and free will to make their own decisions. In Locke's piece of work, Second Treatise of Government, he expresses his opinion on mankind and their freedoms in accordance with God. Locke suggests that people are born with the ultimate freedom to control their own actions. He continues to explain that this state of liberty "isn't a state of license, in which there are no constraints on how people behave.
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Free Will vs. Determinism in Analyzing Great Works of Literature Throughout History. (2023, Jun 26). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/free-will-vs-determinism-in-analyzing-great-works-of-literature-throughout-history/
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