A Review of Edwards's "Inquiry into the Freedom of the Will"

"A Review of Edwards's 'Inquiry into the Freedom of the Will'" by Henry Philip Tappan is a careful look at Jonathan Edwards's ideas about free will and whether people are responsible for their actions. Written in the 1800s, the book thinks about how our choices, our minds, and our beliefs all work together, especially when it comes to free will and the idea that everything is already decided. Tappan wants to explain Edwards's thoughts and see what it means if we agree that our will controls itself. In the beginning, Tappan says his goal is to break down Edwards's ideas about the will and look at them closely. He thinks it's important to understand the will using psychology, not just religion, so we can really get what it is and how it works. Tappan says he will explain Edwards's ideas, talk about what happens if we believe them, and then judge the arguments about whether our will controls itself; getting ready to dig deep into the big questions about freedom and right and wrong.