Introduction to HumanitiesLecture 10Augustine

By David Kelsey

Augustine

• Augustine:– 354-430 A.D.– Born in Northern Africa to a Pagan

father, Patricius, and Christian mother, Monica.

– In his youth studied literature, rhetoric and law

– Baptized in 387 A.D.– Ordained bishop of Hippo in 391

A.D.– Canonized in 1303 A.D.– Wrote his Confessions in 397 A.D.,

a reflective look at his own life

•

Augustine’s view

• Augustine:– Held that unless you believe you will not understand

• In faith, aims to both understand that God is and what God is

– We will examine only some of his views on God and man

– An argument for God’s existence:• 1. God is by definition that to whom there is nothing superior.• 2. Truth exists and is superior to us.• 3. If nothing is superior to truth, then God is truth and God exists.• 4. If there is something superior even to truth, then God is that thing and God exists.• 5. God exists.

More on Augustine’sTruth argument

• Understanding and Evaluating Augustine’s truth argument:• Premise 1: God is that to whom there is nothing superior.

– Questions?

• Premise 2: Truth exists and is superior to us– This seems to be Augustine’s argument for premise 2:– 1. Truths exist. For example, mathematical truths.– 2. But such truths are eternal, incorruptible and common to all who think them.

• Just consider 7 + 3 = 10.– 3. So truth itself is eternal, incorruptible and common to all who think.

• We acknowledge truth…– 4. The eternal, incorruptible and inviolable are superior to the corruptible, temporal and violable.– 5. Man is temporal and corruptible.– So 6. Truth is superior to us– Thoughts on this argument?

• What about Premise 3 of the truth argument: If nothing is superior to truth, then God is truth and God exists.

– Questions?

The Great Chain of Being

• The Great Chain of Being:– God created the world ex nihilo, out of nothing.

• The world is entirely dependent upon God.

– Reality is partitioned in graded steps, which are infinitely close to each other.• Being and nothingness are mixed in all degrees in all things.• God has the most being, then the angels, then rational creatures, then more

primitive life forms such as dogs, insects, etc., then to inanimate matter, I.e. rocks…

– Consider a cat…

– There is a direct correlation between being and goodness.• The more being something has, the more good it has. So God who has the most

being, is completely good. The created world is less good than God, but still good.

Evil is the privation of good

• Natural evil does not exist:– Natural evil does not depend on free choices of rational agents.– Natural evil can exist only where there is good.

• Whatever is, is good• But being and nothingness are mixed in all degrees in all things.• So if there is evil in something, this is because it has some part in nothingness, as well as in

being.

– So evil is the privation of good:• Evil is just a lack of the being something should have• Example: A disease or wound

Augustine on Time

• Augustine on Time:– There arises an apparent puzzle from 2 held Christian beliefs:

• God is eternal and unchangeable• The created world is the realm of change and impermanence.• So just when did the fleeting world come from eternal God?

– Augustine solves the puzzle by positing that God is not located in time at all.• Time was created along with the world.• God exists in a never ending present, at once before all past time and after all

future time• Time has no meaning apart from our rational minds.• The future, the present and the past…• But God exists outside time in a never ending present….• For God, all time is known at once, in a single moment.

Augustine on Moral evil

• Augustine on Moral Evil:– Sin is the result of disordered love. It is loving more what is of lower value and loving

less what is of higher value.• For example, loving $ so much you are willing to harm someone for it…

– Augustine says much more on sin, faith and salvation but we will move forward to the philosophy of Anselm and Aquinas…