92

Medieval philosophy sought the “root of freedom” (that is, radical free choice) in reason (Siger of Brabant), in the will (Henry of Ghent), or in a combination of both: the will as subject, reason as cause (Thomas Aquinas). Should we agree with one of these positions, and are they libertarian or compatibilist? Instead of answering this question, the author looks for the deeper, nourishing soil that gives meaning to this debate: at a level more fundamental than that of the academic dispute, freedom consists not in the ability to do otherwise, but in the manifestation of the good.