O LIVRE ARBÍTRIO E A CONDUTA MORAL DO INDIVÍDUO NO PENSAMENTO DE AGOSTINHO DE HIPONA

Abstract

This study is a monographic research with a heuristic and bibliographic scope about Saint Augustine. Here the idea of free will was discussed and how this notion is directly related to the individual's moral conduct, that is, driving the movement of human beings towards correct conduct, especially through the search for happiness and the search for wisdom, in order to achieve beatitude. In this way, when we understand that man is the bearer of free will, which is a gift given by God, he, the human being, has full responsibility for his actions, as well as the ability to discern between good and evil. However, human beings can have their “free will” trapped in evil due to the influence of sin, needing divine grace to return to the domain of their choices, given that sin distances human beings from the supreme Good. Therefore, for human beings to return to the path of good, they need to seek God, and from then on, in knowing the truth, they will be truly free. After man moves to God, he aims to achieve happiness and does so through the action of the moral will of love and charity. The general objective of our work, therefore, is to investigate how free will, granted by God to human beings, acts on our moral conduct and interferes in our search for happiness.