Freedom...?

One of the things I’ve been thinking a lot about lately is the nature of freedom. I am a compatibilist, which means that I neither want to deny freedom of a sort to human actions nor deny the nature of things such that God is in absolute control. I don’t think, however, that I want to define freedom in the standard compatibilist manner: a freedom from being compelled to do something.

Friedrich Hermanni notes that an idea of compatibilistic freedom could be one free from external compulsion, free from internal compulsion, and free from hidden compulsion – the compulsion from an external power, the compulsion from a habitual tendency toward or against, and the subconscious compulsion such as when one is hypnotized or brainwashed (Cf. Hermanni, Metaphysik, Mohr Siebeck 2011). He also notes that a sinner who can’t choose otherwise is at the mercy of this inner compulsion, in the same manner that a pilot is at the mercy of a terrorist with a gun to the pilot’s head. I’m not satisfied with the conclusion that he comes to, however.

I suspect that throughout Christian history, we have had various concepts of freedom in attempts to make Divine control, theological fatalism, or simply the fact that God instantiated the given set of circumstances, compatible with some concept of freedom, and one which is robust enough to guarantee moral responsibility for one’s actions. I know of some work being done on an analytical explication of Anselm’s concept of freedom, and I am rather curious not only how theological concepts of freedom prior to the Enlightenment differ from one another, but also how they interact with theological fatalism.

I’m not a causal determinist, but I’m attracted to the idea of theological fatalism – I think I might be able to find a way that there is a compatibilist notion of freedom which is combinable with fatalism, rather than determinism, but I’ve got a bit of reading to do on that (well, actually, I think this is going to become a research proposal for a postdoc…). After all, Luther managed a theory of man’s moral responsibility and to be a theological fatalist at the same time.

Anyone who can suggest some literature, please feel free to do so – I’m already compiling a list, but suggestions are most welcome.