ABSTRACT

A French theologian and philosopher, Arnauld was the most important and well-known intellectual associated with the Jansenist community at Port-Royal, as well as a staunch and orthodox champion of Cartesian philosophy. In his theological writings, Arnauld defended the Augustinian doctrine of efficacious grace, according to which a person’s salvation is not earned by his or her own acts but granted by the irresistible grace of God. In addition to his role in the theological controversies surrounding Jansenism, Arnauld was also constantly engaged in philosophical disputation and was regarded as one of the sharpest and most philosophically acute thinkers of his time.