A new essay on free will: Libertarianism, agent-causation, and their place in soteriology

This dissertation defends a Christian agent-causal theory of free will grounded in the decision of faith unto salvation. Using Robert Kane's four key questions as a paradigm, this defense consists of (i) a general theory that (a) answers the Compatibility and Significance Questions and (b) evaluates the options attempting to answer the Intelligibility Question, and (ii) a specific theory based on assumed ontological commitments that (a) gives a positive answer to the Intelligibility Question and (b) satisfies the demands of the Existence Question by offering a model of how free will does or could exist.;Chapter 1 presents an overview of the free-will debate, noting the key issues and significant philosophical literature within that debate.;Part 1 presents my general theory of free will and consists of three chapters. Chapter 2 begins an answer to the Compatibility Question, clarifying the definitions of determinism, compatibilism, and libertarianism and arguing that compatibilism is prima facie incoherent. Chapter 3 completes the answer to Compatibility Question as well as the Significance Question, arguing that compatibilist attempts to redefine free will without alternate possibilities fail. Chapter 4 begins answering the Intelligibility Question by assessing various libertarian models of free will, concluding that all fail unless one assumes a theistic outlook.;Part 2 presents my specific theory of free will and also consists of three chapters. Chapters 5 and 6 complete my answer to the Intelligibility Question. Chapter 5 presents my Christian agent-causal theory, arguing that free will is an essential active power of human beings deriving from the fact that they are essentially moral agents. Chapter 6 analyzes Augustine's views on free will (which I argue remain libertarian throughout his lifetime). My purpose there is to ground the theory of chapter 5 in the Christian tradition and to introduce key concepts important for fleshing out my agent-causal theory. Chapter 7 answers the Existence Question by presenting a model of free will that grounds it in what I think is the only context that Christianity leaves available: the decision of faith. There, I hope to show how my theory of free will aligns with what Scripture says about God initiating and accomplishing our salvation.