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The Issue of Free Will: Are We the Authors of Our Actions? – Prof. Steven Jensen

The Thomistic Institute

Prof. Steven Jensen explores the issue of free will and moral responsibility, arguing that we are genuine authors of our actions only if our choices are self-determined and not merely the inevitable result of heredity, environment, or internal states shaped by outside forces. This lecture was given on September 30th, 2025, at Georgia Institute of Technology. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speakers: Steven J Jensen holds the Bishop Nold Chair in Graduate Philosophy at the University of St. Thomas, Houston, where he teaches in The Center for Thomistic Studies. His fields of research include bioethics, moral psychology, the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas, human nature, and natural law. He is the author of several books, including the following: Living the Good Life: A Beginner’s Thomistic Ethics, The Human Person: A Beginner’s Thomistic Psychology, The Natural Law: A Beginner’s Thomistic Guide. Keywords: Action, Causality, Compatibilism, Determinism, Free Will, Freedom, Human Tendencies and Prediction, Libertarian Agency View, Moral Responsibility, Possibility