AUGUSTINE- human nature Flashcards
When and where was Augustine born?
North Africa- 354 AD
Define esoteric
Teachings which are only intended to be understood by a small number of people with limited knowledge
Define manicheism
A form of esoteric Christianity which believed that suffering and evil in the world are not caused by God but by a lower power (Satan). Humans have two souls: the higher soul desires God and the lower soul desires evil
Describe Augustine’s interest on manicheism
He became interested in the problem of evil and suffering. He wanted to know what caused it and what we could do. Manicheism appeared to offer him the rational view of the world. They were dualists.
Define platonism
Belief that the soul can ascend to merge with the One (or God) where it encounters the truth, wisdom and happiness
Describe Augustine’s relationship with platonism
Neoplatonism played an important role in his theology. His view of the soul and its relationship is strongly Platonic and his early writings share platonic optimism that the soul can find wisdom through its own effort. It solved the problem of evil: evil is not separate power but the absence of good
Describe Augustine’s conversion to Christianity
Still struggling to make sense of his emotions, sense of guilt and lack of inner happiness. Arranged meeting with Ambrose- Catholic bishop of Milan. Learnt how to read to OT at symbolic level. Sitting under a fig tree, heard a voice say ‘Take it and read it’ x2. Took it as God’s command. Was baptised by Ambrose.
Describe Augustine’s life as a Christian bishop
Joined a monastic community at Taagaste and was ordained a priest in 391 AD. Consecrated Bishop of Hippo until his death.
Define The Fall
The moment described in Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve rebelled against God and were punished by being expelled from Eden. After the Fall, humans are in disharmony with God and nature
Define and describe cupiditas and caritas
Meaning love. Will is driven by cupiditas, self love and caritas, generous love. Before the Fall, they operate in harmony but after, they work contrary to each other
Describe the human will before the fall
Harmony, expressed in complete obedience of Adam and Eve to God and in their duties to other living creatures. Human will compromised cupiditas and caritas which were both necessary in order to live in accordance with God’s will.
Define pre-lapsarian
Before the fall
City of God Book XIV 26 quote
‘body and spirit worked harmoniously together’
Where is ‘body and spirit worked harmoniously together’ found?
City of God Book XIV 26
Describe Augustine’s view on sex and friendship
In paradise Adam and Eve were not only married but married as friends, where they equally and mutually participated in the friendliness of God. Sex is always secondary to friendship; friendship being the highest expression of human existence. Sex would occur without lust and Adam was able to summon an erection at will; the will was in complete harmony and in control of body
City of God Book XIV 24 quote
‘and had not been excited by lust’
Where is ‘and had not been excited by lust’ found?
City of God Book XIV 24
The human will after the fall quote (Genesis 3:16-17)
‘but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die’
Describe Augustine’s view on pride and disobedience
Pride caused humans to reject their perfect relationship with God because cupiditas separated from caritas. Their decision to eat from the tree is a sign of their desire to be like God
City of God Book XIV 13 quote
‘for pride is the start of every kind of sin’
Where is ‘For pride is the start of every kind of sin’ found?
City of God Book XIV 13
Describe the divided will
Distorted will had now become divided. Although it will still be rational enough to know what is morally good, the damage done means despite willing to do good, it is weakened by desires and does the opposite
St Paul Romans 7:15 quote
‘For I do not do what I want but the very thing I hate’
Where is ‘for I do not do what I want but the very thing I hate’ found?
St Paul Romans 7:15
Define akrasia
Weakness of will.
What are the 4 stages of the moral life Aristotle describes?
Wickedness, weakness, self control, life without struggle
What is the other word for wickedness?
Akolosia
What is the other word for weakness?
Akrasia
What is the other word for self control?
Enkrateia
What is the other word for life without struggle?
Sophrosyne
Describe the weakness of will debate
Plato and Aristotle doubted whether there really is such a state. e.g. when I lie in bed for an extra 10 minutes, it is not that I lack moral will power, but I have given preference to one choice over another. Augustine says that the will is weakened because of the sin caused by Adam at the Fall. Commentary on Romans 7 in confessions book 8 describes will as ‘half wounded’, ingrained out of habit. Will is at war with itself.
Define concupiscence
Sexual lust but can also refer to uncontrolled desire of all kinds, such as craving food, power and money
Describe Augustine’s view on concupiscence
In his fallen state man is no longer able to control his libido. The body cannot be sinful because it was created to be good by God, but now that the will is weak, concupiscence dominates human existence.
Peter Brown: The body and society (1988) quote
‘He would never visit a woman unchaperoned’
Where does ‘he would never visit a woman unchaperoned’ come from?
Peter Brown: The body and soul (1988)
City of God XIV 20 quote
‘human nature then is, without any doubt, ashamed about lust and rightly ashamed’
Where does ‘human nature then is, without any doubt, ashamed about lust and rightly ashamed’ come from?
City of God XIV 20
Define post-lapsarian
The world after the fall of Adam and Eve. The fallen world
Define ontology
The study of how something exists and the nature of its properties
What are Augustine’s descriptions of original sin?
Double death and transmission of sin
Describe double death
The first ‘death’ is caused by Adam’s rebellious will which kills the relationship symbolised by embarrassment of nakedness. Second death is the mortal state of every human and is God’s punishment for the first disobedience.
Describe transmission of sin
Original act of disobedience is transmitted by a ‘chain of disasters’. So, Adam’s children bear his rebellious nature.
City of God XIII Chapter 14
‘Misuse of free will there started a chain of disasters’
Where does ‘misuse of free will there started a chain of disasters’ come from?
City of God XIII Chapter 14
Describe free will and predestination
Our reality can be resolved with God’s grace. Optimistic: For without God’s grace no one would be saved from the effects of original sin
Define Grace
God’s generous, free act of love for the world expressed supremely in the giving of his son, Jesus Christ in order that humans might overcome their sinful natures
Describe grace, human nature
Human nature offers possibility that we could achieve the harmonious relationship with God which would lead to summon bonum- the greatest food. The wound is healed through God’s grace alone as expressed In God’s gift of his son. If this were not so, there would be no possibility of redemption for human kind. The purpose of faith is to recognise failings of human nature and place one’s trust in God’s love and grace
Describe the fall as a symbol of a person’s spiritual journey
Interpretation of fall as spiritual journey is much closer to Jewish interpretation of Genesis 3. In Judaism, no doctrines of original sin and fall. Genesis 3 read as example of human journey towards perfection made possible through subsequent giving of the Torah. For Christians, it is Christ not the torah which is the example of perfection
Describe Augustine’s misinterpretation of ‘body of death’ (Romans 7:24)
Scholars pointed out his misinterpretation. ‘Body’ is not a Platonic separation between spirit and corrupted body, but the whole human personality which has fallen short of perfection. Spirit is not a disembodied power but the aspect of an individual’s personality which is open to God and desires redemption. The fall is a symbolic moment when a person first realises his situation and begins their spiritual journey
Describe Richard Dawkins’ view that the belief in original sin is irrational and dangerous
Blames great deal of human suffering and conflict on ‘original sin’ tradition Augustine created. Absurd to imagine corruption of all humans rests on 2 individuals. As evolutionary biology considers that humans (as Homo sapiens) emerged from less sophisticated animal forms who didn’t have the kind of consciousness which enabled them to make an active decision to rebel- the literal belief in Adam and Eve makes no sense
Describe Dawkins’ view: symbolic account of fall, sexuality
Even symbolic account of fall does not rid Christianity of its unhealthy obsession with sin, guilt, violence and repressed sexuality. The idea that God should wish to restore human nature by killing Jesus on the cross is sadomasochistic and irrational
What is the Dawkins quote on original sin as irrational?
The God Delusion (2006)- ‘what kind of ethical philosophy is it that condemns every child, even before it is born, to inherit the sin of a remote ancestor?’
Define the humanitarian principle
Proposes that humans get on better when each person takes into account the interests of others
Describe the challenge of the humanitarian principle
Dawkins views are shared and developed by psychologist Steven Pinker. His argument is that christianity has been responsible for violence, suffering and debasement of humanity until post-enlightenment when irrational superstitions of Christianity were replaced by the humanitarian principle. This works as each person is a rational being and then respects the interests of others as rational beings. Doesn’t;t require God’s grace as it can be done through autonomous rational negotiation. For past 200 years HM has become established as self-evidently right. West has seen rapid decline of capital punishment, abuse of women and despotic leaders.
What is the Steven Pinker quote about the challenge of the humanitarian principle?
The Better Angels of Our Nature (2011) ‘you an I are better off if we share our surpluses, rescue each other’s children when they get into trouble, and refrain from knitting each other’
Describe sin and collective responsibility (Reinhold Niebuhr)
Although PE thinkers like Hume have made it unfashionable to talk about sin, failure to do so leads to colossal mistakes being made by society and those in power. By rationalising and rejecting traditional notion of sin, humans at every level fail to realise that no action can ever be entirely good
Describe Niebuhr’s view being not a fatalist
Doesn’t think like some Augustinians that there is nothing we can do to remedy human condition as this would remove all responsibility; solution is for the human ego to understand its own nature fully by coming into a proper relationship with God. Once the go comes into contact with God it is able to realise both its limitations and its possibilities. As an individual, people may do good things but when actings part of a group they do not
Describe criticisms about sex and human nature
Many argue it is largely Augustine’s fault that for so long, western societies have felt guilty about sex. Freud challenges Augustinian tradition. Argues that libido is vital and natural element of human development. Rejected notion that humans punished by God for their guilt, but doesn’t fully dismiss Augustine’s psychological insights. Freud noted psychological problems exhibited by his neurotic patients could almost always be traced back to original historical event in their early life. Thus, shares A’s notion that human personality isn’t chosen by individual but is result of history.
Describe Augustine’s own childhood experiences to support his argument
Stole pear from neighbour’s garden despite not being hungry. Merely for the pleasure of stealing. He chose to follow cupiditas even though he knew what he was doing was immoral.
