Abstract

Sought from the article "On the freedom of choice" and "Confessions" starting the analysis, reconstruction of Augustine's thought, the concept of the will, and his notion of human behavior on the basis of theoretical analysis and ethical responsibility. Augustine on the origin of evil, to give his attention to the theological re-think the age-old problem of free will an opportunity, he stressed the independence of will as the capacity of the soul, which from a moral point of view of psychology, the ethical behavior of people made ​​a different on Greek and Roman intellectual tradition in the original analysis. At the same time, will ensure the independence of people choose different behavior patterns of freedom and the freedom to realize their own nature. It is this freedom to ensure that we become masters of their own actions and whom bear the praise or blame, which is the basis of moral responsibility. Augustine's theory of this will be sufficient to respond to contemporary Anglo-American philosophy, especially the effectiveness of Gilbert Ryle's concept of willingness to blame. With a detailed philosophical analysis of the concept of will in De libero arbitrio and Confessiones, this essay aims to provide an analytical reconstruction of Augustine's theory of human behavior and moral responsibility based upon the concept of will. I would like to argue that the theological concerns endow him with the opportunity to shed new light on the age-old problem of free will. The emphasis on the independence of the will as a faculty of the soul affords Augustine an original understanding of moral agency in moral-psychological teams, which makes him definitely distinctive from the ancient intellectualistic tradition. For Augustine, the faculty of will is the real foundation of the freedom of choice and the freedom to he oneself. Only the freedom of the will guarantees that we human beings are the real masters of our actions, esp. moral actions, and can rightly merit blame or praise for what we have done. From Augustine's phenomenological description and incisive analysis of will, we can also develop some persuasive arguments to answer Ryle's sharp criticism of the introduction of will