Abstract

This article offers a detailed analysis of Henry of Ghent's understanding of weakness of will in his Quodlibeta and reveals the psychological and metaphysical ideas behind it. Henry's voluntaristic approach becomes evident when he emphasises that the original cause of weak-willed actions is to be located in the will, although they are also accompanied by a simultaneously occurring error of intellect caused by the will's movement. The development of Henry's position in this matter is closely connected with theological debates around the Parisian condemnation of 1277. His extensive treatment of weakness of will proves that this problem does not lose its philosophical edge in the Middle Ages – even for voluntaristic authors like Henry.