Xvi. Of Man'S Powers Of Loving: Free Will
XVI. OF MAN'S POWERS OF LOVING: FREE WILL
(A)
Are there any other powers in man beside those of knowing?
Yes, there are also the powers of loving.
What is understood by these powers?
By the powers of loving we understand that there is in man a power by which he is drawn through the medium of his powers of knowing to seek whatsoever presents itself as a good, and to turn away from whatsoever presents itself as an evil.
Are there several powers of loving in man?
They are twofold by reason of the two kinds of knowledge in man.
What are these powers of loving called?
The first is called the heart or the affections in the material sense of the word (LXXXI.); the second is called the will (LXXXII.).
May not man's will also be called the heart?
Yes, but in a higher and wholly immaterial sense of the word.
Which is the more perfect of these two powers of loving?
The will.
(B)
Is it because man has a will that he is said to be free?
Yes, for his will is not drawn of itself or of necessity to a good except under the general aspect of good; hence provided the good presented to the will is only some particular good the will is master of its own act in so far as it is able to choose or not to choose that particular good (LXXXIII.).
Is man's free will dependent upon his will only?
No, man's free will results from a combination of his will with his reason or intellect.
Is man by his intellect and will, and his power of freedon the king of all creatures in this world?
Yes, this is so; for all things else by their very nature are inferior to man and were made to serve him.