Augustine on Human Nature

Question 1

Human Nature

Answer 1

Refers to inherent dispositions humans are born with, without cultural or social influence.

Question 2

Augustines view on human nature

Answer 2

Humans are born with a corrupted nature due to original sin.

Question 3

Origin of Sin

Answer 3

Augustine observed humans’ natural predisposition to sin and questioned its origin.

He concluded that humans, not God, are to blame, referencing the Genesis story.

Question 4

The Fall & Original Sin

Answer 4

Before the fall, humans’ rationality controlled their bodies, including sex, which was pure and rational.

After Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they were banished from Eden, marking the fall.

Punishments included pain in childbirth for Eve and toil for Adam.

Question 5

Corruption of Human Nature

Answer 5

Original sin causes a tendency to do evil, inherited by all humans.

Augustine believed all humans were “seminally present in the loins of Adam,” meaning they inherited this corrupted nature.

Question 6

Massa Damnata

Answer 6

Augustine’s view that all humans are a mass of the damned due to original sin.

Question 7

Cupiditas

Answer 7

Selfish love of earthly, impermanent things, leading to ignorance and unhappiness.

Question 8

Caritas

Answer 8

Selfless love of others as an expression of God’s will, related to virtue.

Question 9

Concupiscence

Answer 9

A key feature of original sin, where bodily desires overpower reason, particularly evident in sexual desire. The mind cannot always control sexual organs.

Question 10

Criticism: Scientific Evidence Against the Fall

Answer 10

Genetic evidence shows that humanity cannot have descended from just two people, contradicting the story of Adam and Eve.

Evidence for evolution suggests humans evolved rather than being created in a biblical sense.

The Adam and Eve story is unscientific in light of modern genetics and evolution.

Question 11

Criticism: Augustine’s False Biological Understanding

Answer 11

Augustine misunderstood reproduction, adopting the homunculus theory, believing that tiny people existed inside men.

He claimed all future generations were “in the loins of the father,” which is biologically inaccurate.

Question 12

Defence of Augustine’s Original sin (G.K. Chesterton and R. Niebuhr)

Answer 12

Augustine’s view on human nature being corrupted by original sin could still be valid, despite his mistaken understanding of biology and the fall.

His observations about human behavior, such as his story of stealing pears, could still point to the reality of human sinfulness.

G.K. Chesterton and R. Niebuhr agreed that evidence for original sin can be observed in human behavior, with Niebuhr calling it the most “empirically verifiable” Christian doctrine.

Question 13

Pelagius’ Counterargument to Augustine’s Original sin

Answer 13

Pelagius disagreed with Augustine, arguing that human behavior, though inclined toward evil, is not due to original sin but because of social and cultural influences.

He believed people are “educated in evil” due to upbringing, which corrupts them over time.

Pelagius viewed humans as capable of improving through better education and upbringing.

Question 14

Contemporary Evidence against Augustine’s Original sin (Steven Pinker)

Answer 14

Modern sociological and historical evidence supports Pelagius’ view, as humans have made progress since Augustine’s time.

Steven Pinker suggests human reason has contributed to a decrease in violence, and the average life is now more secure than ever.

If original sin caused an irresistible temptation to sin, human behavior would not have improved, but it has over time.

Question 15

Predestination

Answer 15

The belief that God chooses specific individuals for salvation. According to Augustine, this decision is based on God’s will, not human merit.

Question 16

Grace

Answer 16

God’s unconditional and generous love given to humanity, undeservedly. It is seen most clearly in the gift of Jesus Christ to save humans from their corrupted nature.

Question 17

Summum Bonum

Answer 17

The highest good, attainable by those who have faith in God and whom God has chosen.

Question 18

Augustine’s Exclusivism

Answer 18

Humans are so corrupted by original sin that genuine, enduring faith in Jesus is only possible through God’s grace.

Grace is what saves humans and allows them to enter heaven.

Election refers to God choosing who will receive grace and be saved.

Question 19

St. Paul’s View on Grace

Answer 19

Grace is a “gift” that humans cannot earn, emphasising that salvation is not something we can achieve on our own due to original sin.

Question 20

Double Predestination

Answer 20

Augustine’s view that, due to original sin, God has either predestined some to salvation (heaven) or others to damnation (hell).

Question 21

Pelagius’ Objection to Predestination

Answer 21

Predestination is unjust. Pelagius argued that if humans are incapable of avoiding evil due to original sin, it would be unfair for God to punish them for their sinful actions.

He also questioned the idea of collective guilt for Adam’s sin, pointing out that individuals are not responsible for actions committed before their birth.

Question 22

Augustine’s Defense of Predestination

Answer 22

Augustine contended that original sin is a factual consequence of Adam’s disobedience, not God’s direct fault.

Predestination is not unjust because all humans are born corrupted by original sin, making their punishment deserved.

While this might seem unfair, Augustine maintained that God’s judgment is beyond human understanding and that His justice is inscrutable but ultimately just.

Question 23

The Problem of Suffering

Answer 23

The idea that it seems unjust for children to suffer (e.g., with cancer) due to original sin challenges Augustine’s view.

Augustine would argue that such suffering is part of God’s justice and that God remains omnibenevolent despite allowing it.

Question 24

Defending Augustine on suffering

Answer 24

Some might argue that the contradiction only arises from a modern, idealised view of love and justice.

Augustine insisted that God’s reasons and justice are beyond human comprehension, and that humans should trust in God’s wisdom and judgment.

Question 25

Augustine's two cities

Answer 25

The earthly city - governed by material forces, which is where those condemned to hell exist. The heavenly ‘City of God’ - where those who are chosen to exist. Humans are members of either one or the other, chosen by God, and whichever city a person is a member of, the State exists to try to maintain control during life otherwise concupiscence will take hold and society would collapse.

Question 26

Augustine's three types of peace

Answer 26

The peace found in the City of God - perfect peace. The temporal peace that all aim to bring about in society. The inner peace that those who live in the City of God (the chosen) can enjoy during life.

Question 27

Jean-Jacques Rousseau - Humans have a distinctive nature

Answer 27

18th century philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau said that humans have a basic tendency to be generous but society holds them back 'man is born free but everywhere is in chains'.

Question 28

Thomas Hobbes - Humans have a distinctive nature

Answer 28

Thomas Hobbes argued that humans are basically like animals, selfish beings that need to use their reason to overcome their animal instincts and build societies.

Question 29

Freud - There is no distinctive human nature

Answer 29

Psychologists, such as Freud, might argue that there is not a distinctive human nature because humans are governed by memories and feelings repressed into our unconscious minds.

Question 30

Existentialism - There is no distinctive human nature

Answer 30

Existentialists thought rejects the idea of there being a basic human nature - we build who we are (our essence) through our choices and decisions.

Question 31

John Locke - There is no distinctive human nature

Answer 31

17th C philosopher, John Locke argued that at birth, all people are born with a 'tabula rasa' or blank slate and all our influences build us up to be different individuals - so we are not born with a common human nature.

Question 32

Pelagius: God commands moral action so we must be capable of moral goodness

Answer 32

The Bible commands humans to act morally, which implies that they must have the ability to obey those commands. If original sin makes humans incapable of moral action, it questions the purpose of God’s moral commands and fosters a fatalistic attitude toward morality. Pelagius argued that claiming we cannot follow God’s commands due to original sin implies that God is unaware of human limitations. He concluded that God gave humans free will to do good, and our actual good actions result from our free choice. "That we are able to do good is of God, but that we actually do it is of ourselves." Humans should be praised for their good works, as they are made possible by free will.

Question 33

Augustine's Response to Pelagius

Answer 33

Augustine argued that humans can only will and do good with the help of God’s grace, not merely through their own free will. He cited Paul’s teaching that "God works in us to will and to act in order to fulfil His purpose," emphasising that human ability to do good comes from God’s intervention. Augustine argued that love, which enables good actions, is a gift from God. Thus, good actions made out of love are really thanks to God’s grace, not free will. Augustine contended that Pelagius' view gives excessive credit to humans, implying that they deserve more praise than God for their good works.

Question 34

Pelagius' Defense to Augustine's criticism

Answer 34

In a letter to the Pope, Pelagius clarified that human will is always assisted by divine help when choosing good actions. Augustine responded that Pelagius' explanation was inadequate, as it did not specify how divine help operates. Augustine argued that divine help involves God directly intervening in human will, providing the love needed for good actions, without which humans would be incapable of doing good.

Question 35

Key differences between Pelagius and Augustine

Answer 35

Pelagius believed that free will, aided by divine help, enables humans to choose good actions and merit salvation. Augustine believed that free will alone is insufficient, and that God’s grace is necessary for humans to do good and fulfill God’s commands.