AUGUSTINE (354-430 C.E.)

Solomon and Martin, Stumpf, "St. Augustine’s Christian Philosophy" in From Socrates to Sartre and W. Beach and H.R. Niebuhr chapter on e-reserve

I. Background

  • A. Biography

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  • B. Key Issues and Questions
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    1. The Problem of Evil - Theodicy and

     Related Problem of Free Will

     

  • 2. Monism and Dualism
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  • 3. Ultimate Reality - Spiritual or Material.

    • (Pantheism)

  • 4. Faith versus Works - Pelagianism and Predestination
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  • 5. Charges that shift to Christianity from Roman religion caused fall of Rome.
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  • C. Contemporary Philosophies
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  • 1. Stoicism
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  • a. Ultimate reality material.
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  • b. Theodicy and meaningfulness of human life.
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  • c. Logos
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  • d. Pantheism
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  • e. Summum Bonum is happiness, a life in harmony with the Logos, in accord with nature and the rational order of things: 
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  • apatheia

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  • autarkia

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  • kathekon

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  • 2. Manicheanism - Persian dualism
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  • 3. Plotinus (c 204-270 C.E.) and Neo-Platonism

    • a. Neo-platonic concepts allowed Augustine to build an intellectually sophisticated Christianity: Ladder or chain of being and Evil as the absence of Good.

    b. Neo-Platonic Views

    i. Division between Spirit and Matter - Soul and Body, but monism. (Emanation metaphor)

    ii. Hierarchy - chain or ladder of being

    iii. Evil is the Absence of Good; Absence of Order, Rationality and Being.

  • iv. Salvation - View not adopted by Augustine

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    III. Creation, Fall, and Redemption: God, Man, Original Sin and Grace

    A. Sovereignty of God.

     

    B. Human Nature and Free Will - mind/will to love

     

    C. Original Sin

     

    D. Grace, Salvation, Caritas and Cupiditas

    1. Grace

    2. Caritas

    3. Cupiditas

     

    E. Pilgrimage - temporal, spatial metaphors, concept of sanctification

    IV. SUMMUM BONUM

    A. Definition - happiness or beatitude (blessedness), perfect eternal life in peace, harmony and perfect love relationship with God - celestial/heavenly city

    B. Why is it the SUMMUM BONUM?

    C. Why in preference to other alternatives?

    D. Received not Achieved: Grace. Humans cannot achieve it on their own because of the distortions of original sin.

    V. VIRTUE

    (See esp. On the Morals of the Catholic Church and Beach and Niebuhr, pp. 115-118)

    Selected Quotations:

    "Love God and do what you will."

    "Virtue is rightly ordered love." - City of God, Book 15.22

    What does Augustine mean when he says: "Love God and do what you will"?

    How does Augustine treat the cardinal Greco-roman virtues: Temperance(Self-control), Prudence, Justice and Fortitude (courage)?

    A. Purposes of Virtue in this Life.

    B. Greek Cardinal Virtues (See City of God, Bk. 19 and On the Morals of the Catholic Church, Ch. 15)

    1. Transformed, Baptized.

    C. Vice - Key vice: Pride, assumption of self-sufficiency.

    Additional Quotation: "All is given by God, yet all is required of man." What views of Augustine are captured in this quotation?

    VI. City of God and City of Man
  • A. City of God written at the end of Augustine's life, from 413-426.
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  • B. City of God - The Celestial City - Central Love, Integrating Principle - Love of God
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  • C. City of Man - The Earthly City - Central Love: Love of Self - Overweening pride
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    VII. Theodicy and Free Will Revisited

    Augustine and the Problems of Theodicy and Free Will

    1. Defining the Problems

    a. What is the problem of evil (theodicy)?

    b. What is the problem of free will?

    c. How are the two problems related?

     

    2. What solutions does Augustine propose for these problems?

     

    3. What are the strengths and weaknesses of Augustine’s solutions?

     

    VIII. Critique of Augustine

     

    IX. Varieties of Christian Ethics
  • A. Diagrams
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  • 1. Unity of Christian ethics lies in centrality of focus on God as sovereign creator and redeemer known in life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Christian life is always seen as response of grateful obedience to God. One seeks to know and do God's will and to follow the two-fold command of love of God and neighbor.
  • 2. Diversity comes in a) emphasizing horizontal or vertical dimensions of triangles above. b) emphasis on law and discipline or grace and freedom. c) interpretation of God's will, especially relationship of Christ and culture.
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  • B. Is Christian ethics distinct from other forms of ethics? If so, what would distinguish it? If not, why not? Plato has Socrates ask in Euthyphro: Is an action pious (holy) because the gods love it, or do the gods love it because it is pious?
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  • C. Christ and Culture Typology of H.R. Niebuhr offers a parallel paradigm for understanding views on the relationship of secular and Christian ethics.
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    1. Christ Against Culture - opposition between Christ and culture. Emphasizes separation from the world. Tertullian: "What has Jerusalem to do with Athens?"

    2. The Christ of Culture - Agreement.

    Then three views that maintain the difference between the two but hold them together.

    3. Christ Above Culture - Synthetic view. Christ is the fulfillment of cultural aspirations and restorer of true institutions of society. Yet.

    4. Christ and Culture in Paradox - There is an inescapable duality and tension between the two authorities. Yet obedience to God requires obedience to the institutions of society and loyalty to its members as well as obedience to Christ who sits in judgement on that society. Luther. Two kingdoms doctrine.

    5. Christ the Transformer of Culture - a conversionist model. Augustine a good example as is the Reformed tradition.

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