Abstract
Calvin in popular imagination functions as a radical antagonist of rationalism and as an extreme
advocat of predestination. This article, primarily on the base of analysis of Institutio Christiane
religionis, shows that his doctrines are neither so distant from the theological and philosophical
traditions, or so devoid of logical structure, as is commonly believed. When Calvin's conceptions
of free will and justification are placed in a broader epistemological and anthropological perspective,
a detailed analysis of his thought system shows that the idea of predestination is not his
objective, but rather a logical extension.