Editing Will (philosophy) (section)

==Medieval European philosophy==
Inspired by [[Islamic]] philosophers [[Avicenna]] and [[Averroes]], [[Aristotelianism|Aristotelian]] philosophy became part of a standard approach to all legal and ethical discussion in [[Europe]] by the time of [[Thomas Aquinas]]<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Popkin|first1=Richard Henry|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ok4F_SawQaEC&q=Inspired+by+Islamic+philosophers+Avicenna+and+Averroes,+Aristotelian+philosophy+became+part+of+a+standard+approach+to+all+legal+and+ethical+discussion+in+Europe+by+the+time+of+Thomas+Aquinas.|title=The Columbia History of Western Philosophy|last2=Brown|first2=Stephen F.|date=1999|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-10129-5|language=en}}</ref> His philosophy can be seen as a synthesis of [[Aristotle]] and early [[Christian doctrine]] as formulated by [[Boethius]] and [[Augustine of Hippo]], although sources such as [[Maimonides]] and [[Plato]] and the aforementioned Muslim scholars are also cited.

With the use of [[Scholasticism]], [[Thomas Aquinas]]'s ''[[Summa Theologica]]'' makes a structured treatment of the concept of will. A very simple representation of this treatment may look like this:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/summa/1082.htm |title=Summa Theologica: The will (Prima Pars, Q. 82) |publisher=Newadvent.org |access-date=2012-11-07}}</ref>
* Does the will desire nothing? (''No.'')
* Does it desire all things of necessity, whatever it desires? (''No.'')
* Is it a higher power than the intellect? (''No.'')
* Does the will move the intellect? (''Yes.'')
* Is the will divided into irascible and concupiscible? (''No.'')

This is related to the following points on [[free will]]:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/summa/1083.htm |title=Summa Theologica: Free-will (Prima Pars, Q. 83) |publisher=Newadvent.org |access-date=2012-11-07}}</ref>
* Does man have free-will? (''Yes.'')
* What is free-will—a power, an act, or a habit? (''A power.'')
* If it is a power, is it appetitive or cognitive? (''Appetitive.'')
* If it is appetitive, is it the same power as the will, or distinct? (''The same'', with contingencies).