A Review of Edwards's Inquiry Into the Freedom of the Will.": Containing I. Statement of Edwards's System. Ii. the Legitimate Consequences of This . Arguments Against a Self-Determining Will"

A Review Of Edwards's Inquiry Into The Freedom Of The Will. by Henry Philip Tappan. Henry Philip Tappan's critical study surveys Edwards's Inquirer into the Freedom of the Will, presenting I. A Statement Of Edwards's System; II. The Legitimate Consequences Of This System; and III. An Examination Of The Arguments Against A Self-Determining Will. The work explains Edwards's psychology of the will, detailing his definition of the will as the faculty of choosing, the relation between will and desire, and the claim that the strongest motive determines volition, equating the greatest apparent good with choice. Tappan then derives implications such as the absence of self-determining power, the place of motive and necessity in volition, and the differentiation between moral and natural necessity, alongside issues of liberty, moral agency, and divine sovereignty. He proceeds to critique the arguments for a contingent will, investigates the role of consciousness and proof, and concludes with reflections on the compatibility of responsibility with a providential order. The volume thus provides a rigorous, controversial engagement with Edwards's influential theory of volition and its religious and moral consequences.