The Contemporary Understanding of Free Will and Types of Leadership

Arkadiusz Jabłoński; Agnieszka Marek; Adam Zadroga

doi:10.18290/rf26742.8

Published : 2026-06-29

Vol. 74 No. 2 (2026)

The Contemporary Understanding of Free Will and Types of Leadership

Arkadiusz Jabłoński

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8081-2217

Agnieszka Marek

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2803-1194

Adam Zadroga

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1706-9106

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18290/rf26742.8

Abstract

Our article addresses the question of possible connections between contemporary concepts of free will and the understanding of different leadership styles. For this purpose, we will conduct a phenomenological and conceptual analysis. We will start by presenting the ways of understanding free will and the typology of leadership contained in the literature. Then, the perspectives circumscribed by individual concepts of free will be assigned dominant leadership styles in terms of three aspects: choice, moral responsibility and basic merit. Libertarianism is linked to transactional leadership, compatibilism to transformational leadership, hard incompatibilism corresponds to positive leadership styles, and revisionism is associated with the relational styles of leadership. In light of our analyses, we recognise the theological perspective (derived from the thought of St. Augustine) of the understanding of free will as enabling the fullest understanding of leadership. From this perspective, a leader’s ultimate goal is not to be a master of themselves, dominate the environment and accumulate wealth, but to properly use talents and inspire the followers to transcend the earthly order to achieve eternal happiness.

Keywords:

wolna wola, style przywództwa, Augustynizm, perspektywa teologiczna

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Jabłoński, A., Marek, A., & Zadroga, A. (2026). The Contemporary Understanding of Free Will and Types of Leadership. Roczniki Filozoficzne, 74(2), 185–208. https://doi.org/10.18290/rf26742.8

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