Thomas Aquinas and Charles Hartshorne on reconciling human freewill and divine providence: A comparative study

• Main Author: Quinto, Faiq Edmerson T.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2022
• Subjects: Providence and government of God; Free will and determinism; Thomism; Process philosophy; Thomas, Aquinas, Saint, 1225?-1274; Hartshorne, Charles, 1897-2000; Philosophy
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etdd_philo/6; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/etdd_philo/article/1005/viewcontent/2022_Quinto_Partial.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

This study, which is comparative in approach, is an exploration of human freewill and Divine Providence and how the two are reconciled, using as framework the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas and Charles Hartshorne. Coming from two opposing traditions – Substance Metaphysics and Process Philosophy – this study shows that there are differences in approaches to freewill and Divine Providence between Aquinas and Hartshorne. Nevertheless, this study also argues that there are common grounds where both philosophical frameworks converge – e.g., both have the same concept of freewill; both have the desire of making God and human beings meet; both recognize that God is supreme; both affirms that God loves his creation and is not distant from it. The study concludes that convergence is possible between the philosophy of Aquinas and of Hartshorne on account of reconciling freewill and Divine Providence. Keywords: Freewill, Divine Providence, Thomistic Philosophy, Process Philosophy, Thomas Aquinas, Charles Hartshorne.